


An Order of Sorcerers

by SmoggyFogbottom



Series: Din Djarin Just Wants Friends [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Black Sun (Star Wars), Canon-Typical Violence, Caras POV, Found Family, Gen, Jedi, Some Fluff, cara and din are bffs, looking for space wizards, love the idea that everyone in the outer rim are a bunch of yokels going, new friends for din djarin, the fuck is a jedi, whats a skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22885732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoggyFogbottom/pseuds/SmoggyFogbottom
Summary: Cara has asked Din to meet her on Nevarro. She has a new acquaintance who says they can help him with his quest. Out of curiosity, she has agreed to broker the meeting.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Cara Dune & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: Din Djarin Just Wants Friends [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614700
Comments: 64
Kudos: 412





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to mix it up and use Cara's POV. This is a bit of a "what if" scenario for the next season.

Cara got the sense that Din Djarin was human, but nothing was certain these days. It didn’t matter, she supposed. It was one of those details that didn’t matter until it did. Such as if he was dying or bleeding out, but she would deal with that if it happened again. Without ego, he had her back in a fight, and that was what mattered in the end. It was a good thing to not know. It meant she could be earnest when she told the one who requested this meeting, that she wasn’t telling them shit about him. 

The little toad that followed him around was what really held her interest. Whenever she asked about him, the answer was cagey at best. On first sight, she assumed the thing was a pet, but Mando treated him like a child and it didn’t take long to realize _it_ was a person, not a creature. He never let the kid far out of his sight, which was devotion you might not even see between actual parent and child. 

So it surprised her to see him walk into the Nevarro cantina without the little guy somewhere on his person. 

“Cara.” His voice sounded lighter. Maybe not happy, but less burdened than before. 

They clasped hands and she couldn’t help but grin at the sight of him. She considered him a friend. A reliable ally. It had been a long time since she could say this about anyone. 

“Should -” She lowered her voice, “Should I call you Din, or is that off limits?” 

He shrugged and they both moved into the booth she had been occupying. 

“I gotta say, I’m surprised to see you without the little guy.” 

Din cocked his head to the side and adjusted a new bandolier. From under his arm, and shadowed by his cloak, a little green hand poked out of a pack. 

“Wow.” She smiled into her bottle of ale. “How’s that working for you?” 

He shrugged again. “Well enough.” 

“I say this fully aware of how fucking weird this sounds, but part of me is jealous of the kid. If I was raised by a Mandalorian -.” Her family might not have died on Alderaan. Painful memories rocketed to the surface of her mind. Then again, it’s not like Mandalore fared well either. She masked the pain with a lopsided grin. “I’d be unstoppable.” 

“I don’t think the galaxy is ready.” He cleared his throat and scoped out the surrounding cantina. Cara didn’t bother. There was no one in here that the two of them couldn’t make quick work of together. 

“Your message said you had something important?” He leaned in, curiosity ending any further pleasantries. 

Cara took another swig of her drink. “I reached out to a couple of my old soldier buddies. The ones that aren’t willing to turn me in -” Her eyes darkened with memories of betrayal. “There’s something my commanding officers would always say - ‘May the Force be with you’, ever heard of it?” 

Din shook his head in the negative. 

“Well, something your forge lady said has been itching away at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t place it. You see, I was never in the rebellion for the revolution. I just wanted to kill the shits who blew up my planet.” She tried giving an explanation for her lack of knowledge. 

Din just nodded. “A good reason.” 

“So, I finally heard back from my buddy and apparently these sorcerers - Jedi or whatever - were an Order the Empire destroyed." When he told her, he had been surprised she didn't know, but what could she say? She was a sheltered kid. The constant war raging across the galaxy sent her parents running to a mountain commune, shut off from the rest of the planet. Shaking the memory away, she continued with her explanation. "Apparently they believed in some mystic force. It lets them move things with their mind and so on. You know, there were rumours that one of our hotshot pilots had special abilities, but I couldn't give a shit. Figured it was just another flyboy overcompensating.” She rolled her eyes.

"But moving things with your mind?" She gestured towards the little guy who had now poked the top of his head out of the pouch. “Sound familiar?” 

He nodded, and muttered an understated, “Yep.” 

“But - I didn't just ask you here for a history lecture.” 

She paused, still wondering if this was a good idea. Anytime someone swore her to secrecy, it made her itchy. She didn’t want to trick her friend. She stood up and nodded to the door. “This way.” 

Credits were placed on the table and they each exited the building. 

“What’s going on?” He whispered as they moved further down a back alleyway. 

“Well - my snooping didn’t go as unnoticed as I hoped. There’s someone who wants to meet you.” 

“Cara?” He stopped walking and angled away from her, his instincts preparing him for a fight. 

She was a little disappointed his reaction went straight to suspicion, but it wasn’t unexpected. “C’mon, you know me better.” She nodded towards a darkened doorway. “Trust me, you’ll want to meet this one.”

Normally she wouldn't ambush him like this, but when her old army pal said a Mandalorian warrior had answers for her Jedi questions, she couldn't say no. They somehow knew about Din and their stipulation for the information was only if they could meet him in person. And if it was kept hush-hush. 

He remained in place, scoping out the alleyway. Ahead of them, two figures shifted out from the shadows. One of them - a woman with tan skin, and close-cropped neon purple hair, looked at Din curiously. 

“You should trust your friend, brother.” She said to him. Nestled in the woman’s arm was a helmet with the familiar t-shaped visor. 

“Brother?” Cara asked, unprepared for the immediate friendliness of the Mandalorian woman. Her bare head was a whole other matter. 

“Yes. Brother. Since the Purge, all Mando’ade are family, despite how _distinct_ our clans have become.” Her look of remorse seemed genuine. "Sorry for the mystery, but we needed to meet you in person. Get a sense of your character."

Cara looked at them with healthy skepticism. Was that a dig at Din's strict code? "And?"

The purple haired woman looked to her partner, who nodded. "Seems like you pass." She said with a cheerful smile.

Din kept his hand on his holster, but didn’t speak. Cara felt she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to start something, but he wasn’t comfortable enough to let his guard down. 

The second figure stepped forward, most of her body obscured by flowing grey robes. Cara could tell she was Togruta, but not much else. One of the main reasons she agreed to this was because it had been another Mando making the request. But this? _This_ was unexpected. 

From underneath Din’s arm, a little metal ball was flung, followed by the cooing giggle of the kid. A good tension breaker, that one. 

The Togruta lifted two of her fingers in a subtle gesture and the ball hovered in midair, before lazily looping back towards Din. A simple, but shocking display of power. This person looked nothing like the kid, but that was a damn similar party trick. 

The grey robed woman smiled and the lines around her eyes crinkled. Somehow, her expression was both kind and world weary. “I believe we have much to talk about.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After watching Clone Wars And Rebels, I wanted to write a scene where Din meets some characters from those shows. I started thinking about Ahsoka and Sabine teaming up and traveling the galaxy and I'm obsessed with them showing up live action on the Mandalorian. Probably won't happen, but a girl can dream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara and Din meet two strangers who claim to offer help, but can they be trusted?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't initially planned on continuing this, but I can't resist the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda!! It took me a couple weeks to organize my thoughts into a coherent story, but now I will try and update this every one to two weeks as long as things don't get too crazy at work.

The metal sphere hovered in front of Din’s helmet, rolling gently on its own accord. He wasn’t standing down, and his hand hadn’t left his holster, ready for a quick draw if the situation warranted it. His lack of calm left Cara itching for a fight. Regardless of whether she thought it was a good idea, she’d back his play.

“Cara do you trust these people?”

“I trust the person who put them in touch with me. With my life.” She added. “Figured you’d be fine with meeting a fellow Mandalorian.” His forced parental role seemed to have enhanced his paranoia. 

He nodded towards the Togruta. “You want to talk? So talk.”

The metal ball rocketed back towards her and she stopped it once more, with only a gesture. The kid squealed with excitement. His excitement sure did make the standoff feel a lot sillier.

“She’s been on the run much longer than you and for similar reasons. Be nice.” The purple haired woman interjected. Cara smirked. She liked this one.

“It should be no surprise, but your child is not the first the Empire has set their sights on. I only wish to help.”

Despite his put-upon stoicism and a desire to appear calm and collected, he revealed his concern by placing a comforting hand against the pack where the kid was hiding. The Mandalorian woman watched him curiously and silently donned her own helmet. Approaching him carefully, she stretched out her arm in greeting.

“Ori'vod.” After a moment of hesitation, he extended his hand and they grasped each other's vambrace covered forearms. “Ner gai Sabine - aliit Wren. Tion gar gai?”

There was a pause and Cara cleared her throat. She had never heard the language, but she gathered an introduction of sorts was happening. It made her uneasy, especially when he wasn’t too keen on sharing his personal details. She didn’t know how old Din was, but he made her feel like a big sister again. Which meant he needed her protection.

“He doesn’t-”

The Togruta interrupted her with a gentle hand against her arm. “Let them speak.”

“Ner gai – Din.” It was hard for him to say the word. “Aliit Djarin.” His voice was full of emotion, leaving Cara uncomfortable at having forced this introduction. The two armored figures nodded and stood back, openly observing each other. Din appeared to be at ease, his hand hung loosely at his side, no longer resting on the pistol grip waiting to fire. Cara felt her own body relax, and the tension of the group began to ebb.

“My friend said you had information?” Cara asked after no one else began speaking.

“Yes.” The Togruta bowed her head, an offering of respect to both her and Din. “Although this is not a conversation to hold in a back alley.”

“Do you have a place in mind?”

She gestured towards a stairwell, sandwiched between two run-down looking structures. “We -- have a relatively safe place. This way.”

Cara looked to Din, and his helm shifted towards her. After a moment of consideration, he nodded. The Mandalorian and the Togruta turned and made their way up the stairs. The metal ball fell to the ground. Cara reached down to pick it up and waited to speak until the other two were a comfortable distance ahead.

“Hey, I’m sorry. They wouldn’t meet unless you were brought in unawares.” She shrugged. “Weird, but I thought it was worth the gamble. Did I overstep?”

He was silent, longer than what was socially acceptable, but after weeks of living in close proximity, she had grown used to his way of communicating. He was slow to speak, and unless under duress he always picked his words carefully.

“No, I trust your instincts.” He looked down at the large, curious eyes of his young charge, peeking out of the pack. “The kid’s thrown me off – I'm suspicious of everything. I think – I’ll follow your lead here.”

“Congratulations, you’re a new parent.” Cara patted him on the back, and they turned to follow the other two up the stairwell. As they climbed past the barrier of the buildings, a breeze carried the acrid fumes from the lava fields directly to her nose. She made a face and was instantly jealous of the Mandalorian’s helmets. An air recycler would be nice right now.

The stairwell climbed up another flight, leading into a tunnel dug out of the basalt rock of the planet. Doors lined each side, and at the other end, a barred opening led out towards the wilds surrounding the space port. From her short time spent at the port, she was vaguely aware that the rooms in these tunnels were used for storage. Legitimate storage? She had no idea.

Cara turned to look back at Din and could feel the weird energy radiating off him. She did her best to not react to it. Would do no good if they were both on edge.

The two they followed stopped at the second door carved into the tunnel and the group waited for the purple haired Mandalorian to punch in the door’s access code.

“The room has been repurposed.” Her helmeted head turned to Cara and nodded towards her tattoo. “You’ll appreciate this, I think.”

The door slid open to reveal a space with sparse furnishing and filled with unbranded crates. The new Mandalorian walked in and opened one of them, pulling out a stormtrooper helmet charred with blaster fire.

“Can you believe one of these guys was just walking around in uniform?” She tossed the helmet to Cara. “Walking around like the Empire didn’t get its ass handed to it.”

She caught the helmet, holding it up to admire the precision of the blaster holes. “Nice. I guess I missed a few.”

“Followed him here, found a few of them had taken over the space, so I decided to do the owner a favour and got rid of the squatters.”

Despite the helmet, Cara could hear the grin in her voice and returned the smile. The Togruta stood next to Din, observing quietly. She was hard to get a reading on, a little too ‘otherly‘, if that was a thing. Reminded Cara of the spiritual leaders back on Alderaan. She tossed the helmet back into the crate.

“The name’s Cara, if there are to be introductions. Cara Dune.”

The purple haired Mandalorian offered a mock salute. “I’m Sabine Wren, and my friend here is former Jedi Ahsoka Tano. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of Mando'a  
> Ori'vod - big brother  
> Ner gai - I am/my name is  
> aliit - family/clan/tribe  
> Tion gar gai - What is your name?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group attempts a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my work has closed down due to covid. If anyone reading this is also stuck at home, I hope this new chapter finds you well. Stay safe!

“You’re a Jedi. And you’re a Mandalorian?” Cara asked the two strangers, incredulous. When she went poking for information, the question she posed to her soldier cronies had been an afterthought. An attempt to find a thread for Din to follow. Now here they stood, at the end of the mystery. 

“Yep, you’re lucky. You got a two for one deal.” 

Cara’s laugh was bitter. She did not consider herself lucky by any means. 

Din turned towards the Togruta – to Ahsoka. “I was under the impression we’re meant to be enemies. Mandalorians and Jedi.” 

“Then it’s good I’m a _former_ Jedi.” Her lips pulled into a faint smirk. She gestured towards the hidden child. “But I think I can provide some answers. First, do you mind if I see the baby?” 

The words triggered a physical response in both of them. Cara inhaled and was instantly taken back to the moment Moff Gideon’s men opened fire on the cantina. A small building only a few blocks south of where they stood. She remembered how sure she felt it would be her last stand – dying for a kid she barely knew. The Client’s chilling mannerisms helped to burn his words into her brain; _I would like to see the baby._ What a creep. 

The kid’s hand poked out of the pack and held onto one of Din’s fingers. Sweet little kid. Even she couldn’t deny this. Recovering quicker than Din, Cara stepped between them. “Why don’t we talk first. Tell us what you know.” 

The Mandalorian named Sabine dragged a roll of brightly coloured carpet and lay it out across the center of the space. “This might take a while. Let’s sit.” 

Cara stepped back so she was next to Din and clapped him on the back. “You good?” She asked under her breath. The kid cooed and let go of his finger, leading her to believe he was fine. If the kid didn’t think he needed comfort, she’d follow its lead. He nodded and waited for the other two to sit. After a beat, he sat down in a spot where he could see the two women, as well as the door. Cara sat next to him, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles. They were in a glorified storage unit, might as well sit as inelegant as she wanted. 

“Let’s start with how you knew to contact Cara.” His voice was quiet, and she wondered if he had given himself a chance to recover from his experiences. Had he spent any time with an adult since they went their separate ways? 

“Well - it seems we ran in similar circles at one time.” There was a smile in Sabine’s voice. Her painted helmet turned towards Cara, waiting for a response. There was a certain camaraderie involved when meeting a fellow soldier in the wild. 

“Rebellion?” She assumed. 

Sabine nodded. “I was part of the Lothal cell. We helped liberate the planet.” 

“Heard you did a spectacular job. Chased the Imps clear out of the system.” 

“Sure did.” Sabine fell silent, reminiscing on a very different time. After a moment, she looked towards Din. “I didn’t join the rebellion to bring back the Republic. I did it for our people. For my clan. For anyone the Empire thought they could control.” 

He nodded and gestured for her to continue. _Get to the point._

“That being said, I have friends who believed in the idea of a New Republic. These folks recently contacted me with a little mystery. Apparently, a prison ship arrived at its destination containing a group of merc’s who seemed to have appeared in a jail cell by magic. They had all sorts of stories to tell about a Mandalorian warrior who travels the galaxy with a mysterious green pet.” 

“Why did they contact you? Because you’re a Mandalorian? Did they expect you all to know each other?” Cara asked. Across from them, the Togruta closed her eyes and cocked her head – like she was trying to listen to something far away. When she didn’t say anything, Sabine continued. 

“These days, that’s not unthinkable.” 

A sharp grieving pain stabbed through her chest. She understood this. Most remaining Alderaanians knew of each other, even if they hadn’t met face to face. And if they were strangers, there was an odd obligation to put up with one another. 

The Togruta – Ahsoka – opened her eyes and looked over at her. “You are from Alderaan?” 

Cara swallowed the rising bile and nodded. At this point she wasn’t going to question how she knew this. This magic was too much for her understanding. 

“I am sorry.” Her voice was gentle and her eyes kind. “You both have suffered greatly; it is good you have found each other.” 

A flustered smile pulled at Cara’s lips. She never did well when things got too earnest. Instinct had her glance quickly over at Din, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention. The kid was chirping and moving around restlessly in his pack. He unbuckled the strap of his bandolier and set it on the floor before him. There was a moment of silence as those gathered all turned to watch what was happening. 

The kid lifted the flap and poked his head out, giving the room a cursory glance. Whatever he saw must have been satisfactory because he leaned forwards and tumbled out. Ahsoka snapped out of whatever meditative calm she possessed and leaned towards the child. Din tensed up. 

“Master Yoda.” Her voice was hushed, and her face stricken as she looked upon the child. The kid was cute, Cara granted – but what was she missing that made everyone else lose their damn minds over the thing? Even Din uprooted his entire life for it. 

“Who is this - Master?” 

It took a moment for Ahsoka to compose herself. Sabine touched her arm and she snapped back to reality. She watched the kid with wide eyed amazement and smiled as it waddled over to Cara. 

“This would explain the interest in him – _and_ how he is so powerful at such a young age.” Din’s question was ignored as Ahsoka looked towards the kid with wide-eyed amazement. 

The kid stopped at Cara’s leg and patted one of her pockets. “Eh?” It asked. 

She smiled and fished out the small sphere she had picked off the ground. “Lookin’ for this, little guy?” He grabbed it with both hands and turned around to show the room. “Beh.” He proclaimed, right before putting it in his mouth. 

“This is the one everybody is fussing over? I can see why, he’s adorable!” Words Cara never expected to hear uttered from the lips of a Mandalorian. Sabine watched as the kid babbled at length about something before turning her head towards Din. “Out of habit, I keep an eye on unusual comm traffic. Recently both the Imperial Remnant and the Underworld have been chattering about a powerful child and the warrior who stole him.” She leaned forwards, resting her chin on her gauntlet-ed hands. “Ahoska had some visions and asked for my help to track you down. All this brought us here, to the two of you.” 

“Visions?” Din and Cara asked simultaneously. 

Ahsoka closed her eyes once more, head cocked to one side. “They’ve returned.” She muttered. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group needs to make a quick exit.

“They’ve returned.” Ahsoka muttered.

For a second Cara thought she was referring to her visions, until voices began filtering through from the outer corridor.

The kid looked at the togruta sorcerer - watching her as if he knew what in the hell she was talking about.

“Beh?” He asked, pointing his hand towards the door.

“Yes, little one. No good.”

Din scrambled to his feet and scooped up the kid in his arms. Cara stood and the others followed suit.

“You understand him? You know what he’s thinking?” Cara asked. What was she saying – of course she could. The kid had choked her with his mind. He healed Karga. What was to stop these sorcerers from communicating without speaking?

“Has someone tracked us? What do you sense?” Din asked while trying to place his squirming ward back into the bandolier pack. Ahsoka cocked a brow at the question. Apparently, she sensed something.

“There is a group nearby and they are searching for one of us. Their desire is layered with hostile intent.”

“Who are they searching for?” He asked, hurriedly strapping the bandolier back across his chest.

“She’s not a mind reader, Djarin.” Sabine nodded towards the door. “With me.”

A silent agreement passed between the two Mandalorians. Din went to the door and placed his back against the wall. Taking her cue, Cara knelt next to one of the crates and aimed her rifle at the door. Each of them took position. In short order Ahsoka slunk back in between the crates while Sabine unlocked and opened the door. She poked her head out into the tunnel, only to immediately withdraw into a crouch.

“Damn it.” She muttered under her breath. “Black Sun, by the looks of it.”

“What do they want with us?” The question was reactionary, and Cara felt silly for asking it the moment she did. With this group, what wouldn’t the Black Sun want?

“Oh, off the top of my head slavery seems like a pretty safe bet.” Sabine hissed. “And I’m fairly confident we’ve all had run-ins with them.”

Cara had pillaged several Black Sun caches while gunning for the Rebellion. This was a crime syndicate they had reasoned, there was nothing wrong with commandeering their cargo. It certainly didn’t endear the Rebellion towards the organization, and they reacted as you might expect. Badly.

“How many?” Din asked.

“Eh, hard to say. Three falleen are visible at the end of the tunnel. They are waiting – and well-armed. Looked like they were talking to others.”

“Should we go on the offensive or see what they want?”

The option was taken away from them as a beeping flashbang grenade rolled into view of the door. Sabine scrambled for it and chucked it back down the tunnel. The reaction was impressive, but not quite fast enough. As it erupted, they were caught at the edge of the effect. A piercing shriek and flash of white light left the room swimming before Cara's eyes. Noise was muted, everything sounded like she was listening under water.

The Mandalorians seemed to have been spared the worst of the effects, thanks to those damn helmets. Sabine smacked the access button and the door slid shut. She mirrored Din and flattened herself against the opposite side of the door, while remaining in a crouched position. Cara shook her head, trying to rid herself of the effects of the flashbang.

“Do we try and crash through their chokepoint?” She shouted. The other two looked like they were conversing, but her hearing hadn’t fully returned. Din checked on his kid and then his ammo in rapid succession. Both he and Sabine unsheathed their vibroblades and stood at the ready. Despite her head getting scrambled, Cara readied her rifle. The door slid open and revealed two hulking falleen mercenaries, kitted out in clearly identifiable Black Sun armor and arms. Another flashbang rolled into the room. Seemingly on its own accord it whipped back out the room and flew down the corridor. The two looked at each other, understandably startled. They each brandished the signature double barrel blaster of the criminal syndicate.

“Not very subtle,” Cara grumbled. She was constantly told to cover up her tatts, but the criminals walked around openly declaring their allegiances? To hell with that.

Sabine jabbed a small blade into the knee of the first one, while Din sunk his blade into the exposed neck. As he fell, grasping his bleeding neck, Cara took advantage of the opening. Despite her fading disadvantages, her aim was true and her rifle dropped the second one.

“...chance making it to the other end of the tunnel.”

Cara caught the end of Sabine’s sentence as her hearing returned. Darting forwards, she attempted to peek out the door, but Din grabbed her and held her back. “Careful.”

In her place he looked around the door frame, only for a volley of blaster fire to fill the tunnel. Her heart stopped as a bolt hit his helmet, only for it to deflect back into the wall of basalt. He stumbled and she pulled him back against the wall.

“You stopped me from doing it, and then you go – what were you thinking?” His carelessness made her angrier than her own.

“I was thinking my head is covered with beskar.” There was humour in his voice as he rapped the side of his helmet with his knuckles.

“You two, enough.” Sabine shot a few warning shots down the corridor. “What are our chances?”

He sobered and turned towards Sabine. “I can’t see us making a run for it. They have the upper hand.”

Cara shrugged. “We might be able to dig in. We’ve done it before.” All they had to hope for was running out of enemies before ammo.

“Ahso-” Sabine started to holler, but the other woman was already at her side. “Care to provide us cover?”

The togruta grinned and a boldness sparked behind her eyes. Without visible effort, two metal cylinders flew from her belt and into her hands. Her posture changed and it took Cara a moment to realize this spiritual woman had the heart of a warrior.

Her movements were fluid, like a dancer following along a choreographed path. She was in the tunnel before either of them could grab her. The cylinders in her hands ignited. Blades of pure white light illuminated the space. Wielding these impossible weapons, she danced back and forth, deflecting every bolt that came their way.

“C’mon, quick – time to move.” Sabine gave them each a shove, shaking them from their momentary stupor. Cara never imagined fighting could look like an artform, but this lady got pretty damn close.

A moment of indecision clutched her heart, feeling very much like a magnet for blaster fire. Then again, she had made a bit of a name for herself by rushing in on impossible odds. Taking a deep breath, she followed the Mandalorians, peripherally aware of Ahsoka covering her flank. It didn’t take long to reach the end, their short journey serenaded with the cries of injured and frustrated enemies.

“Damn it.” Din grunted in frustration, pulling at the gate. They reached the end of the tunnel only to see that the barricade had become permanent. Surely done as a precaution against smugglers, it now doomed their safe escape. Cara turned back and aimed her rifle at an approaching Black Sun. She managed a couple true shots; unfortunately, this one was equipped with better armor than his fellow goons. Next to her, Ahsoka raised her blades and for a moment Cara swore all air and sound around them stopped. Without warning, the attacker tripped forwards and lost his balance. He rocketed through the air towards them, becoming impaled on her blades. With little effort she pulled the glowing blades away, bisecting the dying criminal. Silence fell across the area. Doubtful it would last.

“Lay covering fire if any others come through.”

Cara rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to tell me.”

Ahsoka nodded and rushed towards the welded gate, pushing the other two out of the way. With a quick flourish, she began cutting through it with her blades.

“Hey, how come every time we meet, we end up making a last stand.” She asked as Din moved to her side. “I feel like we’re repeating history.”

He turned away from Ahsoka to look at her. “I don’t know, this time feels different.”

No wonder. Given a bit more time and planning, and the four of them could probably take over the entire port. Sparing a look at their new comrades, Cara grinned. “You sure have a habit of collecting badass women.”

Din shook his head. It was clear her remark made him uncomfortable, but his response was cut short. A green skinned head decorated with elaborate black braids poked into view and the two of them sent their own volley of shots. The figure quickly retreated. Behind them the sound of rending metal caught their attention.

The way was clear.

Each of them rushed out into the open wilderness surrounding the port, careful not to brush against the cooling molten metal of the gate.

“We can circle around to my ship.”

“Or mine.” Sabine countered.

Din nodded. “I assume they are both in the shipyard.”

Commotion from the tunnel grew louder, and the group picked up its pace. Rather than follow the path that hugged the outskirts of the city, they made a straight line towards their ships.

“We may have to fight our way through the yard.” Cara called out.

“Maybe. But the Guild holds no love for the Black Sun. Can’t see them letting this group lay in wait out in the open.”

Behind them more Black Sun agents - now with a couple twi’leks and humans - spilled out of the opening they made. She supposed she should have felt more afraid, but her anger kept her circling back to the idea that these were just a bunch of assholes deluded with the idea they could take the four of them together.

Cara spared them a look over her shoulder and watched as one of the humans leapt over a ridge. As he landed a cracking noise filled the air and the rock beneath his feet crumbled away. With a scream, he dropped out of sight.

“Careful, the ground’s not stable-” She began to shout as cracks webbed out from under their own feet. Both Din and Ahsoka dropped a couple feet before he ignited his jetpack and grabbed the sorcerer’s arm. Ahsoka shifted in midair and gained leverage off some invisible surface. She launched forwards, pulling Din alongside.

Two gauntleted hands grabbed Cara’s and she looked up to see Sabine, her jetpack straining against the weight of two full grown adults. It was enough of a deceleration that they both landed safely at the bottom of a newly formed ravine.

“Cara!” Din shouted, he looked ready to follow her into the ravine before ballista exploded the ground under his feet. Ahsoka stood at the edge, deflecting a hail of blaster fire as best she could, but even from this angle it was obvious she was being worn down. Sabine elbowed Cara and pointed towards a wall of basalt rock. The old lava tube responsible for the treacherous ground tunneled deeper under the rock, and at the end shone the dull light of Nevarro. 

“You two keep going, we have a way out!” Sabine called up.

Din hesitated and another explosion caused shrapnel to spray across him. Karga had some explaining to do, letting a washed-up criminal syndicate run rampant in his city. So much for running the place like a ‘tight ship’ now that the Imp’s were gone.

“Go, Din. You gotta protect the kid!” On her word, he tore himself from the edge and the two disappeared from view. Far below the surface, Cara and Sabine squeezed into the tunnel, moving along as fast as they could manage.

“They wouldn’t have been any safer with us. It’s best they keep going straight to the shipyard.”

“I know.” It was why she told him to leave.

“Ahsoka will protect them.”

“Yep.” She appreciated what Sabine was trying to do, but she was angry as hell at being separated from her friend. Also wasn’t too keen at being shot at on her new home base.

The snap of a comm-link filled the air and Sabine answered. “I’m here, what’s going on?”

“We are nearing the shipyard.” Ahsoka’s voice. “What’s your status?”

“Still in the tunnel.” Sabine paused and then sighed. “Leave if you have to, don’t wait for us. We’ll catch up on my ship.”

“Understood.”

The comm-link clicked off, leaving the two of them sidling through the cramped tube.

“I assume you want a ride.” Sabine asked.

“That’s a yes.” Cara’s laugh was more of a grunt as she squeezed around a precarious outcropping. “No offense lady, you two seem on the level, but I’m not leaving Din and his boy without backup.”

Sabine bowed her helmeted head. “I can respect that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still separated from the others, Cara and Sabine attempt to catch up with their friends.

The Razor Crest streaked across the sky, rocketing up into the atmosphere as Cara and Sabine stepped out of the tunnel. The Black Sun had vanished. The ones chasing them were nowhere to be seen.

“Great.” Cara muttered. She swung the rifle across her back and tightened its strap across her chest. Not only had her Mandalorian left, but it probably meant the shipyard was crawling with gangsters.

“Your friend seemed kind of invincible back there. Any reason she couldn’t keep doing that to the rest of them?”

Sabine was watching a scrawling readout projected from her vambrace. It was a bunch of numbers and letters she didn’t understand.

“I’m no expert at what she can do, but it does drain their energy. I mean, they all seem to recover quickly, but it's not like they’re droids.”

_They all? How many did she know?_

_“_ Seems to track. The little guy almost passes out whenever he does his weird magic.” Cara wriggled her hand, doing a poor imitation of the kid.

“Aha! So he _can_ use the Force.” 

Cara froze, feeling like she revealed something she shouldn’t have. Considering the Togruta’s show of power and preceding conversation, Cara assumed they already knew all about the little one. Swallowing her regret, she looked over at the Mandalorian.

“Figured you knew, the way you two were acting.”

“Like I said, I hear things.” She finished inspecting the vambrace’s data. “And if I hear rumours of the Imperial Remnant scrambling to out con each other over some force-sensitive child, you better believe I’m going to investigate. We had a hunch. Didn’t know for sure.”

The covert nature of their meeting was beginning to make sense.

“That why you were so secretive about coming here?”

Sabine nodded. “We wanted to feel you out, you and Djarin. Get an idea of your character.”

“And what is your opinion now?”

“Well, Ahsoka trusts you, so I trust you.”

“Okay.” Cara hummed while looking out across the remaining distance between them and the shipyard. It was strangely quiet. “And why do you think the Black Sun is after us – you think they’re after you or us?”

“I recruited some of their members into the rebellion. They weren’t too pleased.” She shrugged. “Ahsoka’s also had some negative run ins.”

Cara nodded. “And I ‘recruited’ some of their shipments for the rebellion. Think they hold grudges?”

Sabine smiled. “Probably.” She nodded towards the ships. “I don’t see the ones chasing us. It’s possible they’re laying in wait.”

“Let’s get closer. I have friends in town. They might be able to help us.”

She nodded. “I’ll follow your lead.”

The two of them made their way across the fields, walking a little slower than before. They didn’t need to say it, but each woman was mindful of avoiding another incident with a lava tube.

The sulfuric winds had come to an eerie still while they were in the tunnel, and they approached an equally quiet shipyard. Engines were off, the endless chatting of those coming and going was missing; the area sounded abandoned. Sabine flattened herself against the edge of a nearby ship and peered around the edge.

“What do you see?” Cara hissed, impatient.

“Lots of bodies.” She tapped a couple buttons on her vambrace and looked out again. “Some Black Sun, some unknown.”

“Let me by.” She muttered and shuffled into her space. Taking a look for herself, she noted a few of Greef Karga’s people amongst the unconscious or dead.

The man himself stood at the entrance of his city with his hands on his hips, surveying the damage. He was flanked by a Zabrak and a Twi’lek. Names were Joli and Eto, she believed. After waiting a moment and seeing no signs of danger, she stepped around the side of the ship.

“Karga!” She shouted. A few of those who had started to comb through the destruction, whipped around to face her, pistols drawn. “Is it safe?”

A smile pulled at his weathered face and he gestured for those nearby to lower their weapons. “Cara! I wondered where you vanished to. Yes, it’s safe.”

Having the same effect of a child's comfort toy, Cara rested a hand against the strap of her rifle before looking over at Sabine. “Let's go have a chat, see what they know.”

Walking across the yard, she stepped around the bodies of two dismembered gangsters. Safe to assume they fell victim to the light sword Ahsoka wielded.

“What’s with the Sun roaming around like they own the place?” She asked with a smile. “I thought your plan was to clean this place up.”

Karga huffed, his expression indignant. “After hearing gunfire and seeing you bolting across the outskirts we mobilized in good time.” He gave Sabine a onceover as she stepped up to her side. “Wonderful, another one. Mando already left, you just missed him.” He gestured upwards.

“Yeah, we saw the Crest leaving. Listen, we’ll be out of your hair soon enough, don’t worry.”

“Not for good, I hope.” He looked out across the shipyard. Despite the scattering of bodies, life was beginning to return to the area; the locals weren’t going to let this minor inconvenience interrupt their day to day.

“No, but I gotta help Di –” It still didn’t feel right to use Din’s name with anyone other than him. “I have his back, always. You know this.”

“Yes, I know.”

A moment of silence stretched out between them until Sabine cleared her throat. “You didn’t happen to capture any Black Sun alive, did you?”

He looked at Sabine with a critical eye before shaking his head. “No, unfortunately.” He snapped his fingers at one of his lackeys and they ran up clutching a datapad and a commlink. “But we did find these on one of them.”

“Can I?”

He nodded and gestured for the boy to hand them over.

“We’re not sure which one of us they’re after. Hopefully this can tell us.”

The Zabrak stepped forwards. “I’d wager they’re after Mando. Once he and the Togruta left, so did the remaining Suns. Doubt it’s you – no offence.”

Karga was notorious for playing favourites within the Guild. Cara was well aware she was one of his new favourites. The downside of this was the fact it pissed off several hunters, Joli especially.

“Aww, Joli – don't sell yourself short. Maybe they all got scared once they saw your ugly mug.” 

Karga held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Settle down.”

Cara sensed Sabine getting anxious. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t also dealing with a general burden of unease since being separated from the others. It was time to leave.

She offered him a mock salute.

“As always, thanks for everything. I’d say were almost even at this point.”

“More than even.” Karga's retort was wearier than usual. Sometimes she felt bad for giving him a hard time but there was a lot of mileage found in the whole 'betraying you to the empire' ordeal.

She winked at Joli before turning her attention to Sabine.

“So which ship is yours.”

“The colourful one.”

A sleek looking gauntlet fighter from across the way bore a stylized starbird in bright reds and oranges. Intricate geometric patterns spiraled out from the central design.

“You Mandalorians sure like standing out, huh?”

“With our armor, there’s no getting around it. Might as well embrace it.” She placed a hand on Cara’s shoulder. “Let’s go get our friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting sort of an in-between chapter in a couple of days. I started writing out a conversation Ahsoka and Din have on the Razor Crest, it was initially just for myself, but now i want to post it. It'll be from Din's point of view. Mostly just a force/jedi chat.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din Djarin and Ahsoka Tano have a brief conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm calling this an intermission/bonus chapter. I was writing out a conversation between these two for my own benefit, but I've decided to post it here anyways. Will return to regular scheduled Cara's POV next week.

With the Black Sun’s ship bearing down on them, Din engaged the Razor Crest’s hyperdrive, entering the relative safety of hyperspace. With quick consideration he had selected an entry point above Bothawui as their destination. Bothan Space was friendly enough, and not known for having a large presence of either the New Republic or criminals. 

Ahsoka had a rendezvous in mind, but the coordinates were unrecognizable to both him and to an entire database of hyperspace routes. They needed time to make precise calculations; Bothawui would give them that chance. 

He felt her presence in the seat behind him, and continued fiddling with the controls of his ship, not ready to confront this individual. Despite the imminent danger growing further and further away, his heart still pounded in his chest. He knew he would eventually have to relinquish guardianship of the child. But finding others like the child seemed like such an insurmountable task, he hadn’t expected this day to come so soon. Staring out into the swirling dark blue and pale light of the hyperspace tunnel, he was faced with the return to the aching loneliness surrounding the time before. 

“Nothing is certain yet. There’s no need to fear.” 

Din could only stretch out diagnostics and scans so much. Sighing, he swiveled around to face the sorcerer. 

“I’m not afraid.” He grumbled. 

She offered a withering look but didn’t attempt to argue against the obvious lie. Instead, she leaned forwards and watched the child as he waddled back and forth. Happy to be out of his carrier, he babbled to himself in what seemed like a very intense one-sided conversation. 

“Can you train him?” 

She looked up sharply. “He is powerful. At such a young age he has the potential of becoming very dangerous without proper training.” 

“That isn’t an answer.” Din said softly, placing a hand against the little one’s head. 

Again, she did not address his comment directly. “Believe it or not, my goal in meeting you was not to take him from you. I want to offer knowledge. And to discover your motives.” 

His answer to this question was more recitation than conversation. “I must protect and raise him until I can return him to his own kind. An order of sorcerers.” He gestured to her. “He needs to be with his own kind.” 

“And what is his own kind? What qualifications does one need to raise this child?” 

Din didn’t answer right away. He didn’t have one, not really. Like always, he was doing what he was told – what was right by his creed. He was given a mission that needed to be completed. This was the way. 

He steered the conversation away from a direct answer. “Before, in the storage room – you mentioned a Master Yoda.” It was both a statement and a question. 

Sadness filled her eyes. The emotion must have been acute as it stopped the baby in his tracks . He turned around to look up at the Togruta. “The child’s species is still a mystery to me, but I knew of two others. They were powerful Force users, and mentors to all young Jedi. We were raised and trained from a very young age within a Coruscant temple, and Master Yoda would teach all of us at one time or another.” 

Din recalled his own induction to the fighting corps at a young age. He wondered what other similarities Mandalorians and Jedi had. 

“Where is he now?” 

She paused. “Dead. They both have become one with the Force.” 

Din bristled as she spouted dogma he did not understand. “Is it a religious order?” The kid’s future stretched out before him, showing the kid as a monk, meek and mild. He looked down at the little one. The kid had too much sass to devote to something so solemn. 

“It was. But the Jedi were also guardians of the Republic.” 

A biting comment rose to the top of his mind, but he held onto it. Considering her displays of power, the Jedi must have exceedingly failed at their duty if they allowed the Empire to take over. 

“I have tried finding information on the Jedi, but it’s mostly contradictory and – unkind.” 

Ahsoka smiled as the kid walked over to her and held up his hands. “Some of that unkindness is deserved, I’m sure.” She said while lifting him up into her lap. A sharp stab of jealousy was felt, annoying Din further. The boy had never been his, not really. It wasn’t right to feel this way. 

A headache was forming, sharp and at the front of his head. 

“What is the force? You keep mentioning it like I’m meant to know what you’re talking about.” His tone was harsh. 

After a pause, Ahsoka nodded. The kid babbled softly. 

“That is not a simple question, but I will try to answer.” Ahsoka sighed and gave a thoughtful look to the expanse beyond the viewport. The kid sat in her lap, looking up at her as if she was about to tell his favourite story. “It is not fully understood even to those who study it. At the Jedi temple we were told it is an energy field created by all life, but also binds everything in the Universe together. The Jedi call it the Force. The Lasat called it Ashla. Some call it the Power of the Cosmos. Regardless of what we call it, the following is true: some are born with the ability to sense this connection to the Force and can harness or manipulate it. Like so.” She gestured with her hand and the kid rose slowly into the air, giggling like a maniac as he danced around above their heads. “The Jedi call us Force-Sensitives. Some people have weak connections to it, while others are stronger; I sense your boy has an incredibly strong connection.” 

Shockingly, the explanation did not lessen his headache. He reached up and grabbed the kid, expecting to find some resistance, but found none. Holding him in his arms, the two of them stared at each other, both unable to verbally convey their feelings and thoughts. 

The kid lay his hand over a couple of Din’s fingers, and he received the familiar sensation of feelings that weren’t his, forming at the edge of his consciousness. 

_Hope._

Din began observing memories of the kid being alone and frightened. Of being malnourished and kept in the dark. Always hidden, never out in the open. The little guy croaked mournfully. 

It was a series of memories the child had shown him before. Din had assumed he showed it to make sense of his loneliness. 

The memories shifted. The child was still sealed away and imprisoned. And in the darkness a small light. The light meant hope, it meant rescue. 

“He wants you to know the Force is his friend. It told him to wait. If he was patient, one day you would rescue him from the dark place.” 

Din was still rattled from the Black Sun’s attack, from being forced to leave Cara behind, from being asked to digest the idea of a mystical force tying the galaxy together. It had him in a mood. If he hadn’t had such a bad day, he might have been more polite about her beliefs. Hell, it might’ve even fascinated him. 

“But how could he know about me before I – knew about him?” He stumbled over his words. 

“The same way I knew to seek you out. The Force connects all living things.” 

“If it’s so powerful and good, how did it let him get taken in the first place? Why didn’t it save him then?” 

Ahsoka dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand, but behind her eyes he noticed a deep sadness and a flash of empathy. “This is like asking why gravity allows a planet to hold its atmosphere, but also allows someone to plummet to their death. It is a neutral constant that can be harnessed for good or for evil. What it did was show him you – his protector. And this was enough for the little one. I will not pretend it is fair or safe, but this is how it is.” Her voice was soft, but she was stern in the delivery. 

Din was not a talkative man. Speaking with people and figuring out the right thing to say – it was exhausting. When it came to conversations, especially with people he did not know, he was always looking for a way to wrap it up. Looking for the end of the conversation. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he once again tried steering the conversation away from the many questions her explanation caused. There were more practical and immediate concerns to take care of. 

“Whenever he uses – these powers, he gets tired. Sometimes he passes out. How do I protect him from this?” 

Ahsoka looked thoughtful as she reached over to hold the kid’s hand. 

“You’ve been doing good so far.” She said after a moment. “Part of it is common sense. Make sure he is well rested and nourished. Keep him healthy. If he becomes too weak, he may try to use the Force beyond what his body can sustain. He might not know to stop.” 

A notification from the ship alerted them they were about to drop out of hyperspace. With reluctance he handed the kid over to the ex-Jedi and turned back to the controls. After only a single conversation, his mission became exponentially more difficult. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara and Sabine arrive at the rendezvous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been feeling under the weather and haven't been in a writing mood, but I want to make sure I post something this week. Initially hoped to write more for this chapter and make it a bit more dynamic but I'll save that for next week and post this now. :)

“Hey, wake up!” 

Cara startled and immediately straightened in her seat. The exertion spent trying to stay alive on Nevarro left her suitably tired, leaving her struggling to remain awake as they travelled. She wanted to trust Sabine, but experience kept her cautious. 

They had already left hyperspace. Ahead of them and beyond the viewport, was a planet of deep purples, blues, and teal. Broken meteors, ice, and cosmic dust formed double rings around the planet, contributing to its breathtaking view from space. She hadn’t seen anything like it in her time trekking around the galaxy. 

“Strap yourself in, this may get a little bumpy.” 

“We’re here?” Wherever _here_ was. Without thinking, she began buckling herself into the seat, all the while straining to see the nav computer screen. She had asked where they were going before they left, to which she was given vague statements about wild space. 

Sabine nodded and began procedures for atmospheric entry. 

“And the others?” 

“No sign of them yet. Planet messes with the sensors though, we’ll know for sure when we land.” 

The ship shook violently as they began reentry and she gave Sabine a sideways look. 

“Don’t worry, this is normal!” The Mandalorian reassured, following with a string of words she spat out in another language. Cara couldn’t translate but it wasn’t hard to guess at the sentiment. Annoyance. Anger. 

“If you say so.” She exhaled as they were jostled around, the ship acting as if it was about to shear apart before breaking steady over a vast mountain range. They soared smoothly above the craggy terrain and then across a vast forest of deep purples and reds. 

"That went pretty smooth, comparatively. This planet makes it difficult for visitors.” Sabine said by way of explanation. 

“Then why are we here?” 

“Because it’s a safe place for people like Ahsoka. Or your friends' kid.” Sabine reached up and pulled off her helmet, running her fingers through her short hair before shrugging and returning to the ship's controls. “She wasn’t planning on bringing anyone here, so she must have a lot of faith in you all.” 

Cara had become used to Din’s strict lifestyle, so seeing a Mandalorian outside of their helmet made her uncomfortable. It felt like she was doing something wrong and she wasn’t sure why. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“The helmet?” She asked without looking. 

It was exactly what she was thinking, but still she felt called out. “Yeah. I’m confused - about it all – Din -.” Her voice trailed off as she realized she didn’t know how to talk about how she felt. 

“First things first - There are two constants with _all_ Mandalorians. Family, and our creed.” Sabine finally replied. “And before the Empire came, we had our fair share of civil wars and infighting. Then there were well-meaning people trying to pacify us. Caused fractures and divisions. Some of our clans became more -” She paused, thinking of the right word. 

“Intense?” Cara offered. 

“Yeah, let’s go with that.” She looked over at Cara for a second, looking a little unsure. “I want to talk to him about his clan, but he’s -” 

“Yep.” Cara sighed after a moment of thoughtful silence stretched out. Din Djarin was somehow the most complicated _and_ most uncomplicated man she knew. “Look, he’s kinda like a tooka-cat. Once he doesn’t think you’re a threat, he warms up pretty fast. Until then, you’re out of luck.” 

A knowing smile pulled at the corners of mouth and she turned back to the viewport. The ship began slowing down as a stone structure grew larger on the horizon. 

“And here we are.” The ship lowered onto a large patch of land cleared of the surrounding forest. “It doesn’t look like they’re here yet.” 

“Should we send them a message? I have the Razor Crest’s comm ID.” 

“There’s no comm buoy in orbit. It would never get to them in time.” 

Towards the bottom of the ship a hatchway unsealed, and a ramp lowered towards the mossy ground. Cara was out of her seat as soon as it lowered, stretching her arms and legs. She had spent too much time in the claustrophobic ship. Sliding down the ladder, her impact with the durasteel plating below echoed around the ship. 

Sabine poked her head over the ledge. “Did you hear that?” 

Cara looked up sheepishly. “Sorry. I was in a rush.” 

“No, it was after that. Quiet.” She commanded. 

The of them stood still and silent and listened to the cooling ticks of the ship. As the silence grew, the sounds of the forest began filtering through the open hatch, along with the slightly sweet and damp smell of old growth. 

A few more seconds passed before Sabine shook her head. 

“I’m being paranoid. Give me a sec.” 

Cara nodded and walked out to the bottom of the ramp. She shivered at the sight before her. They had landed in a large clearing, bordered by a crumbling stone wall that barely held back the dense forest. Teal vines grew out of cracks, while trees of reds, purples, and greens drooped low over the walls. In the middle of this clearing was a monolithic stone ziggurat, casting an imposing shadow over the area. 

“Creepy.” She muttered. It reminded her too deeply of the Rebellion, of scraping by with the bare minimum. Being forced to use what was available – even if that meant setting up base in long abandoned temples and ruins. 

“Yeah, kinda.” Sabine followed her down the ramp, helmet in hand. “I’m gonna check the temple, see if any of Ahsoka’s guests are still here. Make sure there’s no problems.” 

Guests? She didn't like the idea of walking in on a bunch of sorcerers without backup. “You expecting trouble?” 

“Always. It’s why I’m still alive.” She winked. “Care to join?” 

As she weighed the idea of intruding on such a sacred place. The sounds of a ship entering atmo drowned out the chirps and rustling of the surrounding forest. Above them, the familiar profile of the Razor Crest descended towards them. Sabine shielded her eyes in order to look up at the approaching vessel. 

“I assume that’s his ship?” 

“Yep.” 

A lopsided grin spread across her face as she donned her helmet. “This should be fun.” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reunites, along with some unwanted company.

“Cara?” Her name blared from a loop on her utility belt. Looking down, it took half a second to realize it was her comlink. She unhooked it and thumbed it on. 

“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” There was unmistakable cheer in her voice. 

“Fine. Glad to see you made it.” 

“You too.” 

The connection clicked off, and she rounded the ship to watch them land. Keeping her eyes on the Razor Crest she cleared her throat, getting Sabine’s attention. 

“He’s still working through some shit. Hell, aren’t we all?” 

“Of course.” Sabine’s voice was apprehensive, and she tilted her helmet towards Cara in question. 

“All I’m saying is give him some space. Let me talk to him. I’ll see if I can convince him to play nice.” 

Sabine huffed. Cara looked over, not that it mattered with a helmet covering any relevant facial expression. Sabine might have a creed in common, but Din was a different animal. Was it offensive for her to muscle in on their culture? She hoped not. 

They both walked towards the landing ship. The ramp lowered revealing Ahsoka standing at the top, holding the kid in her arms. Din followed shortly after, immediately scoping out the area, and stopping to stare at the unavoidable stone structure in the center. The kid reached out to him and wordlessly he was passed over to his Mandalorian guardian. 

After a moment of hesitation, Cara and Ahsoka walked towards each other, the scene playing out like a hostage exchange. The Togruta nodded graciously as they passed. Cara offered a halfhearted smile. It grew genuine as she stepped next to her friend. 

She slung an arm around his shoulders, “This is on me, pal. Sorry.” 

A moment passed and even with all his armor she felt his shoulders stiffen.

“No, this is what I wanted – these are the people I’ve been looking for.” 

Cara sighed deeply. _No, it isn’t and no they aren’t_. She shook her head but kept her thoughts to herself. He had enough people telling him how to think. 

“I wanted to help – but this is -” She looked out across the alien landscape. “It’s a lot to take in.” 

The kid squealed and wriggled in Din’s arms. After getting the attention of the adults, he leaned towards the other two. At the same time Ahsoka turned sharply towards Sabine’s ship. The gauntlet fighter’s engines roared to life. Sabine’s attention snapped towards the vessel and began racing towards it, punching something into her vambrace. Whatever command she was attempting must have failed. The ship lifted off the ground, the entry ramp still extended. Her jetpack activated and she flew upwards to intercept. 

“What the hell-” Cara started, but was interrupted as the kid was forced into her arms. Din shot up into air, following Sabine’s lead. The ship began picking up speed, faster than what the Mandalorians could maintain. the kid and her exchanged a look, he clung to her shirt as if he knew she needed her hands free.

Movement from the structure caught her attention and she turned to see a figure racing towards them. At this very moment, the escaping ship began to slow. Cara went to one knee and swung her rifle around to aim at the approaching figure. They appeared to be a human male around her age, pale with a shock of brilliant red hair. He didn’t slow, didn’t even seem to notice her; his attention was solely on the ship. Unsure if he was friend or foe, Cara held her fire. He leapt into the air with inhuman ability, grasping hold of Din’s armored foot, their combined weight dragging them both down. Just as quickly, the human used this leverage to leap upwards again, this time landing on top of the now lilting ship. He ignited a double-bladed sword before following Sabine into the ship’s open hatch. 

Only now did Cara notice Ahsoka, standing with her arms outstretched and straining against some invisible force. The ship lilted closer towards them. She stood dumbfounded as she witnessed the ship being slowed with a magic she didn’t understand. 

The power harnessed was as stunning as it was terrifying. No wonder the Imperial Remnant were so desperate for the kid. She shuddered at the thought of him being trained to go along with whatever plans their grasping little minds could conjure. Hell, the kid was a baby and already had a confirmed kill. The little bastard might have killed her if Din hadn’t intervened. She didn’t want to imagine what might happen if that raw power was turned towards evil. 

In her arms, the kid chirped as Din followed the others onto the ship. Cara watched in annoyance as the three converged on whatever was happening inside. Battles should be fought on solid ground, as nature intended. She was tired of being left out of a fight. 

The ship leveled and began lowering at a steady rate. Ahsoka wavered as her arms dropped to her side. Cara jogged over, reaching out in case she collapsed. She didn’t know much, but she assumed as with the little guy, such a feat might make the Togruta pass out. 

“Thank you.” Ahsoka straightened and took a stabilizing breath. “It was a foolish thing for me to attempt.” 

“Foolish?” She chuckled in disbelief. “It’s incredible.” They both watched as the red-haired human stepped onto the ramp before leaping down to the ground. In his hand he held what looked like a miniature Imperial probe droid, its floating black metallic sea-creature shape recognizable to most. 

“Looks like one of the Black Sun thugs stowed away in one of Sabine’s -” The man eyed Cara suspiciously. “-storage compartments. He destroyed this seeker droid as soon as we boarded.” His phrasing led her to believe he wasn’t talking about legal storage. 

Rather than introducing the new guy, the two of them began inspecting the mangled droid. Not caring to interrupt, Cara trotted over to the ship as soon as it landed. 

“Everything okay?” 

“Yes.” Din called down. 

“No.” Sabine growled at the same time. A flurry of curses in Basic and some other language filled the ship. Just inside the ramp lay a Falleen, the symbol of the Black Sun emblazoned across his bald green head. 

“He dead?” 

Din leapt down from the interior upper ledge and nudged the figure with his boot. “Nah. He didn’t put up much of a fight. Decided to knock him out.” 

Sabine poked her head over the ledge. “Di’kut! You should have let me kill him!” She didn’t wait for a response, but muttered expletives on her way back to the cockpit. 

“Someone’s not taking this well.” She said under her breath. 

“Apparently his droid did a number on her ship’s systems.” He looked up to where she had disappeared. “You can always kill him later.” He called out. 

“Don’t promise me a good time.” Was Sabine’s muffled response. 

“Someone’s making friends.” Cara said with a lopsided grin. 

Din shrugged. “Maybe.” 

She felt an internal struggle between what she wanted to say, versus her desire to not interfere with how he chose to live his damn life. 

“Maybe give her a chance?” She looked over at him with a hopeful glint in her eyes. “I know where your head’s at, I think. I put up with a lot of Alderaanian’s I’d rather not, but there’s not much of us left. Gotta come together somehow.” 

“I’ll keep it in mind.” He said softly. 

Nodding, she placed the kid on her shoulder and he wrapped his little hands around her head, steadying himself as she leaned down to grab one of the unconscious man’s arms. Din grabbed the other, and they dragged him off the ship. As unceremonious as possible, they dumped him in front of the other two. 

The human gave her a double take before staring in shock. A handful of seconds passed where Cara struggled to recall if she had crossed him at some point, before realizing his reaction wasn’t for her, he was staring at the little gremlin drooling into her hair. 

“Is this the child – he's one of Master Yoda’s kind?” The new guy looked earnestly over at Ahsoka. 

Ahsoka placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “A mystery for a later time. We have a more pressing problem to solve.” 

The gathered group stared down at the unconscious intruder, a mark of chaos against the solemn peace of the sanctuary. Only time would tell if it had been compromised. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am nearing the end of my planned story!! I will be posting another chapter from Din's point of view in a few days, I really wanted him and Sabine to have a conversation and it just felt to clunky to do it from Cara's POV. This slightly less clunky version will be posted soon. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mandalorians have a discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I recently finished watching the Trials of the Darksaber and it made me really want to write out a scene between Din and Sabine. I tried writing it from Cara's POV, but it felt too clunky so enjoy this slightly less clunkier version from Din's POV.

Beyond Ilum and deep into the Unknown Regions of Wild Space was a planet whose name and location had been lost to the inhabitants of the galaxy centuries ago. It was left lonely and forgotten until a former Jedi Padawan stumbled upon it in her travels. A single undamaged structure still stood; a long-abandoned temple. The work was slow, but Ahsoka Tano endeavored to turn this structure into a sanctuary. Visitors were rare, yet today a bewildered Mandalorian, an amicable warrior, a little green magic baby, and a large green thug were welcomed into its peaceful halls. 

This motley crew gathered inside the stone temple, in an atrium vast enough to support its own garden, trees and all. A table had been placed in the center and the group congregated around it. Din stood at a distance, preferring to observe rather than participate. As usual, Cara fit in easily with the others – she was currently regaling Ahsoka and the red-headed human about daring battles against pirates and Imps. The kid was crawling around their feet, trying to catch up with a pale coloured convor as it hopped around Ahsoka, turning occasionally to see if the kid was following. The Black Sun thug was still unconscious and bound tightly to one of the chairs, giving a comedic air of a forced dinner guest. 

Instead of feeling satisfied over a completed mission, he only felt confusion. He was tasked with finding the kid’s kind. Yet here he was, his heart heavy and his creed in danger of failing him. There was no rest even in his own mind, as Ahsoka's question wormed its way into his subconscious and repeated itself again and again. _And what is his own kind? What qualifications does one need to raise this child?_

Footsteps sounded behind him and he tilted his helmet to watch the painted Mandalorian join him at his side. They watched the others in silence for only a moment, before she gestured towards a nearby exit. “I have something to show you. Follow me.” 

She left without waiting for a response. He turned back to the group and knew they would be fine without him. He was not a conversationalist on a good day and was in no mood to talk with people who could feel his emotions. He stepped away from his silent observation and followed Sabine. 

The corridor was empty, and their footfalls echoed loudly as they walked. She would know he was following her. He could only wonder at what her plan was. When it occurred to him this may be leading to a test in battle, he began discretely checking his equipment. After a short distance, the corridor opened into a large open room, one that was substantially smaller than the atrium. Stone slabs were spaced out in wide circles, turning the feature into some sort of monument. Only after moving fully into the room, did he notice paintings on many of the upright slabs. It didn’t take an expert to realize the art was in the same style as some of the designs on Sabine’s armor. 

He stopped in front of a pillar displaying a Chiss male resplendent in a white Imperial uniform, painted with a menacing glare aimed at everyone in his path. 

“This is your work?” He asked, impressed. 

She nodded. “Yep. This room’s a work in progress. I add a little more every time I swing by.” 

“You don’t live here?” She and Ahsoka seemed close, he only assumed she was a permanent resident. 

“Ha, no. My clan needs me more than these guys ever will.” She gestured further in. “This way.” 

They passed another scowling individual – a tattoo covered Zabrak with glowing red eyes. 

“Another enemy?” 

She walked back to join him. “Defeated before the Empire fell.” 

He noticed she gave her enemies the same care and skill as the other paintings. A gallery of her past victories, perhaps. “I see.” 

“Do you?” She asked with a tilt of her head. “When I paint my enemies, I hold the power over all that is left of them – their legacy. I control the way they appear. They have no power over me anymore.” 

Her passion left him with emotions he wasn’t sure he trusted. How was it possible to ever be free of past demons? Sighing, he followed her into the center of the room. 

“This is what I wanted to show you.” 

The obelisk in the center was carved with the unmistakable symbol of House Vizsla on one side, the opposite side containing a painting that felt familiar. He couldn’t recall the exact history, but he recognized the armor as belonging to ancient Mandalorian warriors. The clan that took him in all those years ago had similar iconography decorating their homes. 

“The first painting I made for this room. Tarre Vizsla.” 

She waited for his reaction. The painting was of a cloaked warrior, dressed in ancient Mandalorian finery. In his hand he held a blade similar to the ones wielded by Ahsoka. However, instead of a radiant coloured blade, this one looked as if it were made of a black void, drawing all other light into it. Its edges crackled with chaotic white light, a weapon unlike any he had ever seen. 

“You think I’m a fool for knowing so little of our history.” 

Sabine whipped around to face him. “No, never!” She shook her head vehemently. “Our people endured and fought in war after war. In the end, it is all any of us could do to survive. How can I blame your clan if they opted for training and survival over other efforts?” 

He didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say. 

She sighed and place a hand against the painting. “I would like to tell you about Tarre Vizsla.” 

He looked up at the ancient warrior. Despite himself, he nodded. “I would like to hear of him.” 

She cleared her throat, preparing to recite a story he imagined had been told to her since childhood. 

“Over a thousand years ago, Tarre Vizsla ruled over our Houses as Mand’alor. But before that, he had the distinction of being the first Mandalorian ever to be inducted into the Jedi Order. They trained him in their ways and when it came time to construct the weapon of the Jedi – the lightsaber – he crafted this weapon.” Her fingers hovered over the painted blade. “No one knows why it came to look different than all the others, but legend states the lightsaber’s kyber saw he had a heart of a warrior.” He detected a hint of a smile in her voice. “One that could never be tamed by the calm focus of the Jedi.” 

She turned to face him once more. “After Tarre died, the Darksaber became a symbol. House Vizsla once ruled all Mandalore wielding this blade.” 

The past, the present, and future lay out before him, and with it he felt the burden of responsibility crushing down across his shoulders. 

“He was respected?” 

Sabine nodded slowly. “Yes. And the Darksaber is a respected symbol, even to those who stand against House Vizsla.” 

“Even though he went to the Jedi?” 

She chuckled and stood with her hands on her hips. “We are a funny bunch. Tarre returned to us in order to lead as Mand’alor, allowing us to dismiss the Order without contradiction.” 

Din looked up at the stoic figure and was surprised to feel stirrings of loyalty to a man long dead. He wanted to know more. 

“The reason I wanted to tell you this – it was never to remind you of what you do not know. During war, and after the Purge, it became difficult to have – perspective. This is perspective.” She paused, choosing her words carefully, “We don’t have to _only_ be one thing. There is no shame in being both Jedi and Mando’ade. You can keep your mission and your creed without giving up your son.” 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara and Din reflect on home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter but I figured something's better than nothing. Also, a little fyi, I believe I'm nearing the end of this fun little what-if story. I'm thinking there might be two more chapters.

On a forgotten planet and inside a repurposed temple, Cara found herself surrounded by a familiar dynamic. A ragtag group doing their best to survive, people who just wanted to find a way to live again. It was damn nostalgic. Despite belonging to a magic she could never hope to understand, this disparate group felt like her people. Or at least closer in kind to anything she had experienced since leaving the Rebellion. 

She felt a tug on her boot and looked down to see the kid resting his head against her leg. He keened and stared up at her with those big round eyes. Sighing, she leaned over and picked him up, cradling him in her arms. 

“You miss your dad, little guy?” 

“Beh.” Was his answer. She decided to interpret it as an affirmative. 

“He’ll be back, he’s just talking to a friend.” It didn’t take long for Cara to realized Din and Sabine were missing from the group. If it took much longer, she might try tracking them down. She didn’t mind keeping an eye on the kid, but anything else – that was Din’s job. If the kid started crying or needed a change, she didn’t care how important the conversation was, she would drag the Mandalorian back to do his job. For the time being, she was happy he seemed to be listening to her advice. It would do him good. 

With the kid in her arms, Cara sat down at the old stone table, directly across from the Falleen thug. His head bowed forwards and his body slumped against his bindings. Unconscious and drooling. She wondered what the grand plan was and if he was even worth keeping around. He was a danger to everyone here, in her opinion he was better off dead. 

“Here you go, in case you and the little guy are hungry.” Interrupting her murderous thoughts, a large bowl of vegetables was placed in front of them, most of them a kind she had never seen before. The red-haired man smiled down at them – he had returned to the atrium with the food and an old BD unit. 

“Ahoska called you Cal?” 

He nodded. She placed the kid on the table. 

“Well Cal, I think the little guy prefers to be a carnivore.” 

He gave them a weird look but shoved the plate a bit closer. “Try the purple ones, I guess. High in protein.” 

With that, he walked over to the end of the table and set the little BD next to the remains from the wrecked Seeker droid. She had also given him the datapad and comm Karga handed to her on Nevarro. Apparently, this guy had a knack for slicing. Cara figured it couldn’t hurt to find out what they could about the Black Sun threat. 

Without prompting, the kid went straight for one of the purple roots and sat back, chomping happily on his new snack. From the corridor at the other end of the room, she was immediately aware of Din and Sabine returning from wherever they wandered off to. She turned her attention back to the bound thug in case they weren’t looking for attention. 

Easiest way to kill a Falleen was from the front, their back and neck were naturally well protected. Of course, with a decent enough weapon, natural protection meant little. She settled in, mentally preparing a convincing argument on the merits of killing the gangster. She was pretty sure she could get the Mandalorians to take her side. 

The kid looked up over her shoulder and she turned to see Din standing behind her. 

“Hey?” 

He nodded and sat next to her. The kid held out the root he was chewing on until Din reached for it. Looking pleased, the kid crawled back to the bowl and pulled out another one. 

“So, friends?” She hoped the question would prompt him to speak. 

“I never asked – I didn’t know how – or if you want to talk about it -” Like usual, he was deflecting. “After Alderaan -” She looked at him sharply and his helmeted face held her gaze. “Do you think you’ll ever find home?” 

Cara didn’t expect the question and it hit like a dirty sucker punch. A lump formed in her throat and she forced a cough to clear it. “Shit. Give me a warning next time.” 

He nodded but kept quiet. After a moment of gathering her scattered thoughts, she looked back at him. “I don’t know. I thought I found it with the Rebellion, but you know how that turned out.” 

She looked wistfully over at the others. Sabine and Cal engaged in playful bickering as Ahsoka watched with a smile. 

“I’ve heard rumours about a planet being given to the survivors.” He said quietly. 

“Yeah, there’s hope for a new Alderaan.” She shook her head. “But the things I’ve done to survive – it's hard to feel I have a place there.” 

He understood. She knew he did. 

“I suppose if I’m forced to give you an answer, home is wherever it feels safe.” It felt trite to admit, but it was true. She nodded towards Sabine. “You guys must have had a hell of a conversation.” 

“Something like that -” 

Across from them the unconscious form twitched. Din snatched up the kid and held him in his lap. Cara reached for her gun before thinking better of it. She stood up and the Falleen’s eyes flew open, staring directly at her. A moment of indecision passed, along with an odd compulsion to help the man. 

From Din’s arms, the kid reached out towards the prisoner and rose a tiny fist. As he did, the man’s eyes widened in fear. He fought against his bindings, gasping for air. 

Shaking away the strange compulsion, Cara grabbed her gun and jammed the stock into the side of the prisoner's head. His eyes rolled back, unconscious once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***SPOILER WARNINGS FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO WATCH CLONE WARS BUT HASN'T. LIGHT SPOILERS EXIST AHEAD***
> 
> Ok I'm gonna confess something silly here because no one in my family cares, lol. So I posted an earlier chapter that had Ahsoka use the force to prevent a ship from leaving the planet, and for some reason I got this random paranoia that people might not like her using that force power (idk why but the brain is a silly place.) In any case i told my self size matters not, bitch, and included it. All of this is to say, after watching the final episode of the Clone Wars and seeing her stopping Maul's ship with the force made me feel so validated for keeping that ability, it helped balance out the ungodly amount of tears I shed during that episode.


	11. Chapter 11

Their Black Sun prisoner slumped over once more, not conscious but alive. Silence fell over the room, save for Cara’s heavy breathing. She wanted to rip the man’s head off but had a feeling the majority wouldn’t care for this solution. 

“Hey, what just happened?” Sabine called out. 

Both Ahsoka and Cal looked over with concern. They weren’t staring at her, but at Din and the kid. 

“This snake,” She reached over the table and pushed him back into the chair, his head lolling. “He’s using his Falleen shit on me.” The Falleen could be very convincing when they wanted, without even saying a word. And like anyone who has an advantage in this galaxy, there were a few who abused that edge. 

Ahsoka walked over and checked their prisoner’s vitals. Satisfied, she turned to look at the child. 

“Has he done that before?” 

Din tightened his grip on the kid, turning him around to face him. “What are you talking about?” 

She sighed. Cal and Sabine abandoned their investigation to watch what was happening. 

“Did you feel it? Hate. Anger. The Dark side.” Cal was speaking to Ahsoka. Cara raised an eyebrow. What the hell was he talking about? 

“But he’s just a baby.” Sabine protested. 

Ahsoka continued around the table until she was standing next to them. Din stood up as she neared, holding the kid in a defensive manner. 

“Does he often attack others?” Her voice was gentle, diffusing some of the tension. 

“What happens if my answer is yes?” His voice was clipped, his posture stiff. 

Ahsoka looked at him with kindness. “I will offer to help, as I have maintained.” 

He looked over at Cara and she shrugged. This was his mess; he took the kid. If they were offering help, he should probably take it. 

“He stopped a mudhorn from killing me. Lifted it in the air. He choked Cara when he thought we were fighting.” 

“So, all in defense of you.” 

His attention remained on the little one. 

“I’m the problem.” He said it with such emotional conviction, it was clear he had been thinking along similar lines for some time. 

“No. There is only a problem if you do not provide proper training.” She held up her hand, interrupting him before he could speak. “You told me you are seeking his own kind. This is a sanctuary. It is meant as a place of peace for Force users who have been hunted and tortured under Imperial rule. I will not turn away you or the child. As long as you need a safe place – or if you need a place to train him, you are welcome.” 

“But you won’t train him.” 

“I will teach him focus and control, but I will not train him as I was trained. _I_ will not weaponize his connection to the Force.” Ahsoka sighed and weariness pulled at her expression. “If you feel the child should be raised and trained as a Jedi, there are those in the Republic trying to rebuild the Order. I can contact them and arrange a meeting.” 

“Who?” 

“Luke Skywalker is leading the project.” Her brows raised and she looked at them expectantly. Din turned towards her in silence before Cara realized she was staring with her mouth agape. 

“Luke Skywalker is – is a Jedi?” She was incredulous. 

Ahsoka nodded, sharing a smile with the others. 

“You know him?” Din asked. 

“Yeah, you’re telling me you have _never_ heard of him?” 

Din once told her that his tribe became entrenched deeply at the outskirts of the galaxy after the Purge – the Republic, the Empire, the New Republic – none of these groups made enough of a ripple to change their circumstance. He knew the beats of the story but didn’t care enough to know the players. 

He shook his head. “I’m guessing you didn’t know he had this power?” 

“Well, I didn’t _know him_ , know him.” She had a singular focus back then. The Empire just destroyed her home planet and she was out for blood. Everything during that time was more or less a blur. Only later did her attention turn towards the rumours of some hotshot pilot who joined around the same time she did. “I was in a different Rebel cell. He joined the main one, but people talk – it's hard to ignore when some farmer from Tatooine shows up and destroys the Imp’s latest super weapon.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Makes sense now. If he’s like the rest of you, of course he’d be able to take down the Death Star.” 

“He has a strong connection to the Force, this is true.” 

The kid giggled and held the skull pendant around his neck up to his face. Din looked down at the kid, who was clearly enjoying being the center of attention. Looking up at his guardian's helmeted face, he imitated a beastly growl. When the little guy felt safe, he got cheeky. 

“But you don’t approve of him?” Din’s helmet tilted back towards Ahsoka. 

She was clearly conflicted, but Cara sensed it had more to do with sharing her feelings to strangers than anything else. 

“What he is doing is not wrong on its own.” She spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words. “But we disagree on many things.” 

“Such as?” 

Sabine walked over to join them. “The Jedi Order died with the Republic. It should remain in the past. Trying to resurrect it, even with good intentions is a mistake. People will only get hurt.” 

There was painful history to those words. Cara and Din looked back at Ahsoka. “Do you agree?” 

Ahsoka sighed. “I might not have phrased it so _bluntly,_ but yes. To a certain extent.” 

The kid looked up at Din and began babbling fearfully. He held up his hand and made a tiny fist, looking over at the Falleen gangster with a familiar concentrated scowl. Din held up his own fist. The others looked at the two, radiating concern. Cara stood impassive. She knew there was no way in hell Din would raise his hand with that boy. After a tense handful of seconds, the kid turned his attention away from their prisoner. Din opened his hand and the kid copied the motion, both now with their palms facing each other. An unspoken conversation seemed to pass between them, and the kid began babbling cheerfully once more. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sabine walked to his side. 

“The Resol’nare.” She placed a gentle hand on the child's head. “He already has the heart of a warrior.” 

Din looked at her and nodded. “I thought – I hoped – the boy follows it, in his own way.” 

“Hey, what about him being just a baby.” 

“Shut-up Cal. Keep working on the droid.” 

Despite Sabine’s helmet covered face, Cara felt her annoyed scowl. Cal rolled his eyes and held up his hands in mock defeat. “Okay, okay.” He returned to his end of the table. Ahsoka turned to face the prisoner. It would seem he was already regaining consciousness. 

“What is Resol’nare?” Cara prompted after another bout of uncomfortable silence. 

“What it means to be Mandalorian.” 

Sabine nodded. “Doesn’t matter how different our clans are, there are some things we’re all taught.” Her voice turned wistful. “When you were a kid, did they force you to learn the rhyme? _Ba’jur bal-_ ” She began in a sing-song voice. 

Surprising everyone, Din chuckled. Cara was shocked. For the most part, this man wore his culture like a burden. He seemed incapable of being lighthearted about any of it. 

“Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, Ara'nov, aliit,” He recited. 

“Mando'a bal Mand'alor—An vencuyan mhi!” She finished. 

He turned to Cara, knowing she would ask. “It’s meant to teach children the importance of defending your family and yourself.” There was unmistakable pride in his explanation. “We are reminded of the honour of our armor and the important of passing our culture to the next generation.” 

Cara clapped his shoulder, grinning at the two of them. She finally felt her interference might have been a good idea, if only for it to push him over whatever mental obstacle he had about the kid. 

“This baby is ready to throw down the moment someone hurts his family. I’m afraid to tell you pal, but the kid’s a Mandalorian.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all Mandalorian language thanks to Karen Traviss. Here's a Mando'a dictionary of known words: http://mandoa.org/
> 
> Side note, just found out I might be temporarily laid off due to the pandemic so wish me luck while I figure out THAT whole situation. Ha, the joys of being a contract employee.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang attempts to find out why the Black Sun came after them.

“Try that shit again and I don’t think I need to explain what I’ll do.” Cara stood next to the Falleen, pressing the muzzle of a blaster pistol to his temple. She had no proof he had messed with her mind, but it seemed likely in this scenario. He scowled and tried to lean away from her. Couldn’t get far when tied to a chair though. She recognized the barely contained rage behind his eyes. She wasn’t a stranger to it. 

“Now you are going to answer some questions.” She shoved his head back and kept the gun trained on him. His snaky little eyes darted back and forth between everyone gathered. The Jedi and the Mandalorians didn’t seem to mind what she was doing so she continued on with the interrogation. 

“Why are you here? Is this about the kid?” 

The question stopped his foul expression and he stared up at her, completely confused. Cara wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. Snark. Angry stoicism, maybe. It certainly wasn’t absolute confusion. 

“Kid? What kid? What are you talking about- ” 

His sights landed on said kid; those wide, watery eyes narrowed at the thug. Din’s lesson seemed to be holding. The little guy made no attempt to magically attack the thug. 

The confusion began to fade, and the walls went up. He now knew they had no clue what was happening. Doubtful he would offer up any information of his own accord. 

Ahsoka leaned forwards, watching the Falleen carefully. He held her gaze for a moment before shifting uncomfortably. “Your magic doesn’t work on my kind, Jedi.” He hissed. 

“Is that why you were sent?” She didn’t break her gaze. “Did someone tell you this would provide an advantage?” 

“Our magic might not work on you, but my slicing skills might.” Cal called cheerfully from the other end of the table. He and the BD unit had connected a datapad to the wrecked Seeker droid. 

“Find anything?” Sabine asked. 

“Not much is recoverable, obviously.” He gestured to the broken bits of the droid. “But I can tell you that this man is not the owner of this droid. BD has detected several overridden attempts to activate a captured protocol.” 

“Any indication of the owner?” Din asked. 

“Uhh, just a sec – he scrolled through screens of data before finding what he was looking for. “Endi Gor. Mean anything to you guys -” 

The name hit Cara like a gut punch. Winded. They might as well of decked her. Both Ahsoka and Cal turned to her, waiting for her to explain. Damn sorcerers. 

“I - I uh, gotta step outside.” Her voice trailed off as she turned and marched towards the exit. She wasn’t sure what her plan was and didn’t make it much farther past the entrance of the building. It was too claustrophobic in there with them, she needed to get out. She'd never hold it against them, but the way the Jedi keyed into everyone's emotions weirded her out. Somethings were just meant to be private. Like feelings about her past. 

To her right a collection of wooden and metal windchimes offered a soft tinkling melody at odds with how she felt. Endi Gor. A name she hoped to never hear again. A name that didn’t make sense in this context. Why would a Black Sun merc have his droid? Well, she could think of one reason. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew her past deeds would come around and catch up with her at some point – it just wasn’t expected _now_ . _Now_ she was involved with people having issues so much bigger than her own concerns. It was fun just to go along for the ride. It let her forget old baggage. 

The breeze picked up and caused the chiming tune to grow discordant. In the moment it felt like a taunt and she ripped the nearest one down from its metal spike, snapping the tubes in half. She heard movement from behind and spun around to see Din exiting the building. His helmet tilted toward the broken instrument clutched in her hands. To his credit he didn’t say anything about the tantrum. 

Sighing and disappointed with herself, she tossed the broken chime on the ground underneath the others. 

As always, Din stood by her in silence and with patience. With anyone else it would annoy the shit out of her, with him she just accepted it as the way his brain works. If he really felt like something needed to be said, he’d get around to it eventually. 

“Hey - uh, so you know how you never questioned my past? Asked me what I've done?” She chuckled with no small amount of discomfort. “That whole ‘everyone deserves to keep a few of their secrets’ talk we had the one day?” 

He nodded. “I still stand by it.” 

“Ha, well maybe you should’ve pushed a little harder with me.” She meant her words to be lighthearted, but all she heard was bitterness. 

He gestured for her to continue. In his arms the kid copied the hand movement. Anger and a general sense of unease was causing her to completely blank on all the things she told him about her past. 

“You know I left Alderaan – and when it was destroyed, I joined the rebellion.” 

He remembered. It was the first conversation they ever had. In his arms, the kid began to struggle and was set down on the mossy ground. 

“Well -” She shook her head. It all seemed so petty now. “There’s a lot I could say, but all that matters is Endi Gor and I joined the Rebellion around the same time, both because of what the Empire did to our planet. Unlike me, Endi was a TIE pilot and stationed on the Death Star when Alderaan was destroyed. And that was something I couldn’t forgive.” 

“Not unusual from what I’ve heard. Alderaan’s destruction caused many Imperial defections.” 

“Yeah, true – but I was angry, and he was someone real I could blame.” She frowned as the rest of the chimes clanged with the faster winds. “I let the others believe he was a double agent – part of me wanted it to be true. It would let me hate him with a clear conscience. And I guess I did too good of a job because they decided to kill him.” The old anger and hatred were dulled by time and weariness. But losing a home world was something she didn’t think she could ever get over. “He caught wind of this and escaped. I did run into him once afterwards – he begged me to help clear his name and I refused. Haven’t heard from him since.” 

Din hooked his thumbs into his belt and leaned into a more comfortable posture. Once again, damn his helmet. She wanted to know what he thought of her confession. 

“What’s the connection between him and the Black Sun?” 

“No clue. Maybe he hired them?” 

“The red-haired human -” 

“Cal.” She interrupted. 

“But _Cal_ said the droid was stolen from this Endi.” 

Cara threw her arms up in the air. “Then I have no idea. If he is involved it makes me feel like shit. I reached out to my army buddies, I made myself known and now all of you might pay for it. I just wanted to help.” Her shoulders slumped, defeated. 

The kid raised his hand and the area got quiet; the chimes resumed a quiet tune. He looked back at her expectantly. 

“Thanks, kid.” 

He babbled to himself and turned back towards the chimes. Din sighed and he stood apart, looking uncomfortable once more. 

“For a while now, I’ve been thinking of a name. I’m not sure how people do this.” He shrugged, sounding as uncomfortable as he looked. “Maybe he’ll want to name himself when he’s old enough.” 

The sudden turn of conversation left her grasping for a connection. 

“The word we use for sons and daughters is _ade_.” 

“Ah-day?” Cara repeated, sounding the word out. She had no idea where he was going with this but went along with it regardless. 

He nodded. “Thing is – Adé was my mother’s nickname. My birth mother.” He watched as the kid waddled over to the broken chimes. “If I’m going to name him, I feel wrong naming him anything else.” 

“Like it was meant to be? Fate?” Her posture straightened and she rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him a little shake. “Does this mean what I think it means?” 

For once he didn’t feel deflated while talking about the kid's future. 

“It means – I’m still not sure what the right thing is for him, but I was told to find his own kind. And -” His voice broke. 

“It finally occurred to you maybe you are his kind?” 

He nodded. She wondered what in the hell Sabine said to him to shake him out of his stubborn focus. It didn’t feel like _he_ had changed – more like he finally aligned with something that had always been there. 

“He’s a special kid. It’s gonna take a whole bunch to raise him right. You. Ahoska, maybe Sabine. Take some time, figure out if you trust them and then go from there.” 

Said kid began examining the pieces of the broken chime before smashing them against a nearby rock, giggling as he copied her actions. Cara grinned at the destructive little monster. 

“I’m still not sure what the best choice is, and I don’t think I could have considered this if I hadn’t met these people.” He stood closer, his attention fully on her. “So, thank you. You did help, you’ve always helped me, and I think it's time for me to return the favour. If you want to follow this Endi connection, whatever you want to do, I’ll back you up.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the reason this chapter took a bit longer is because I originally intended this to be the last chapter. The point I wanted to make with this story was always to get Din to the point where he realized he didn't need to give up Baby Yoda without compromising who he is. But it meant the B story (the Black Sun being a thorn in the side) suffered a bit. It didn't feel right the way I left it, so I rewrote this chapter and am planning on adding a couple more.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In relative safety, Cara and Din think to their next steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't had a chance to write for awhile so to make up for it this chapter is a bit longer than the other ones and it contains a scene from Cara's pov and Din's.

“Where’d everyone go?” Cara reentered the atrium of the old temple, finding only Sabine and the Falleen. After talking with Din, she distracted herself by searching every nook and cranny of each ship. It was a chore that had already been done, but she needed a distraction from old emotions. Unfortunately, she was unable to uncover any new clues – no one else was hiding away in the bowels of the ships. Realizing over an hour had passed, she decided to return. 

“Uh - Cal’s gone to check on the girls. Ahsoka’s giving Din a tour.” 

“Girls?” 

“Yeah, uh - his girls - his family.” She shrugged by way of apology. “They aren’t keen on outsiders.” 

“Sure.” If every Jedi was hunted in the same way as the kid, even if by a smaller degree, she didn’t blame their sentiment. “So, what’s the plan with this piece of shit?” 

“Depends on you, I suppose. Do you want to interrogate him?” 

“I want to kill him.” 

“Agreed.” 

The Falleen’s eyes widened and he flexed against his restraints. 

“But it would mean anything he knows dies with him.” 

Sabine nodded. “Tragic.” She didn’t sound too broken up about it. 

The recent investigation of the Razor Crest’s sparked an idea. 

“You know – we could just carbon freeze him. Let him hang around the Crest. Bring him out occasionally – see if he wants to talk. I mean, a person might go in thinking they’ll stay silent, but after a while -” She whistled. “Hibernation sickness. What a bitch.” 

His expression grew increasingly panicked. It appeared she hit a nerve with the last threat. 

“Okay, okay.” The Falleen muttered. “Fine. I’m not getting killed over this. I’ll talk if you promise to let me go.” 

Sabine and Cara looked at each other. “You think we’re gonna let you go now that you know about this place? Your best-case scenario here is adjusting to the fact that this is gonna be your new home. _Forever_.” 

Cara sat down across from him. “How about you tell us what you know, and we’ll decide from there.” 

He shifted uncomfortably and after a moment of silent deliberation, he nodded. 

Sabine leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table. “Well where do we start? There are so many questions.” 

“I’ve got one. Why did you stow away on _her_ ship?” She gestured toward Sabine. If properly answered it would solve many of the other questions rattling around her brain. Not breaking sight with the Falleen, she picked up her rifle and lay it across her lap. 

“I bribed the shipyard attendant.” 

Cara turned the muzzle of the rifle towards him in a slow arc. “Smartass. I asked why, not how. And I assume the _why_ starts with Endi Gor. Start there.” 

“Endi - I already told y – I don’t kno-” He sputtered before folding under her steely glare. 

“Then who did you take the Seeker droid from?” 

He looked over at the pile of tech at the other end of the table. Sabine clapped her hands, drawing his attention back. 

“You’re being awful unhelpful for someone talking to people who’d rather just kill him.” 

The Falleen scowled. “I don’t know any damn Endi Gor.” He insisted, voice straining with emotion. “That droid belonged to my boss’s pilot. Found out he was using the Sun's money for personal projects. Looking for you was one of them.” He nodded towards Cara. “I took the droid before everyone else decided to get their pound of flesh.” 

Cara’s heart dropped. Despite their complicated history she wanted to confront him – demand to know his involvement. Of all the things she wanted it was strange to realize she didn’t want him dead. 

“He’s dead then.” Cara fought to keep her voice dull and uninterested. 

“Nah. The boss is keeping him. For information.” The Falleen shifted uneasily. “She wanted to know who you are. Found out you keep company with a Mandalorian who has half a dozen bounties on him. Any one of them could fund us for years. We were to grab you – use you as leverage to get him.” 

He laughed and it became hard and manic. “We got to Nevarro and watched as you brought Sabine Wren _and_ Ahoska Tano to the planet. We recognized the damn ship. The Black Sun hasn’t forgotten what they did.” He spat out the words. 

Sabine was incredulous. "I poached some of your top agents to fight the Empire. _Years ago._ You all are worse off than I thought if you’re still whining about it.” 

The Falleen glowered and pressed his lips into a thin line. Cara was fairly sure she had a good grasp on the situation. No doubt Endi was the pilot he spoke of. Made a stupid mistake with the gang’s finances and the rest swept in, wanting to take advantage of what they thought would be an easy score – Cara Dune; homeless, aimless, a washed-up soldier. They got greedy when they found Ahsoka and Sabine were involved, now they’re paying for it. 

“You seem to know enough – what made your boss think your little chapter of the gang would _ever_ have a chance of taking us all?” 

He snarled and said no more. 

Cara sighed. “Charming.” 

* * *

Din followed Ahsoka out onto a wide veranda overlooking a training ground. Giggles and happy shrieks echoed up to them as the red-haired Jedi and two young children took turns chasing each other and climbing over a variety of obstacles. 

She smiled as she watched them. “And here is where the tour ends. Many of us use the grounds to find focus. Others, well-” She gestured down to the merrymakers. He watched as the man – Cal, Cara called him – leapt to the top of a time-eroded statue. The young ones jumped up and down at the base until he stretched out his hand and pulled them into his arms as if by magic. 

“I will have a room prepared for you and the child.” 

“And if we don’t stay?” 

She crossed her arms and rested against the veranda railing. “If you need time, it will be waiting for you.” 

He wanted so badly to trust the offer at face value. “Do you expect anything of those who stay here?” 

“You mean, do I have any ulterior motives?” 

His face hidden, he smiled. He was used to the galaxy keeping him at arm's length, thinking him unfeeling and aloof. His armor and helmet protected him from displaying any errant emotion. Meeting a group that could feel his hidden emotions seemed to be a tailor-made foil. At the moment, unexpectedly, it amused him. 

“I imagine we need to earn our keep.” 

She shook her head. “There are a few that go out. Cal recently returned from delivering Jedi artifacts to Luke Skywalker. He helped a few in need. But this is a sanctuary – nothing more, nothing less. You are free to stay, but there is no obligation.” 

“Skywalker - this is the Jedi you disagree with?” 

Her expression pinched and she looked down at the child as he wandered around the veranda. He stared back at her with a thoughtful look. 

“I don’t -” She paused to gather her thoughts. “I respect what he is trying to do, but my calling is here – to protect those like your child.” 

Her expression told him that was all she would say on the matter. 

After a moment of quiet contemplation, she turned to him once more.

"You plan to leave soon?"

He nodded. "Cara needs my help."

“I hope to see you and the little one again - but, in case this is the last we see of each other, I wanted to give the child this,” She held out a delicate glass cube, covered with intricately designed gold coloured casing. “This is a holocron. Simply, it holds information that can only be accessed by a Force user. This one contains teachings for young Padawans – children more developed than he, but his comprehension is there. This will help him focus his abilities.” 

She held it out and Din picked it from her hand as if it was an unexploded bomb. The little one looked up at him expectantly, and deciding to trust Ahsoka, Din placed the holocron within reach of the kid. He hesitated, watching Din with those wide curious eyes. 

“Beh.” He handed him the knob from the Crest and moved towards the shiny new distraction. Holding the cube between his hands, a look of stubborn determination settled across his face. Seconds passed before a blue glow emanated from its core. Din started, but Ahsoka held him back with a hand on his arm and a kind laugh. 

“This is normal, don’t worry.” 

The corners of the holocron lifted from the object and began turning on their own, reminding him of an old mechanical puzzle box. They stopped, and a hologram materialized above the cube. An old, wizened figure wearing simple robes and leaning on a gnarled staff stared up at his boy. They were unmistakably of the same race. 

“The Force made physical, a Jedi is.” The old wizard spoke Basic, and he spoke with a peculiar pattern. “Comes great responsibility with that, yes.” 

The boy let go of the cube and looked up in shock. The holocron rolled onto the floor and the light dimmed. The corners twisted and fell back into place. Ahsoka laughed and crouched next to the kid. 

“That was Master Yoda. He taught me and many just like you.” She reached out and gently held 

the child’s hand between her fingers, and in his eyes he seemed to understand what she was trying to say. She closed her eyes and focused. 

“Familiar, yet not familiar. Hmm.” Ahsoka stood up and crossed her arms. 

“What did you sense?” Din was slowly understanding the kind of questions he needed to ask these sorcerers. 

“It’s hard to tell – he's so young.” Her fingers tapped a rhythm on her arm. “I think he recognizes Master Yoda as someone _like him_ , but there’s a disconnect. As if he has no memory of being with his own species. I’m not sure what it means.” 

“Nothing good.” His voice turned cold. Whatever it meant, he knew the kid did not grow up in a place where he was kept safe or loved. “Do you think this Yoda is related? Could this be his child?” 

Ahsoka’s eyes widened. The idea perturbed her. “I suppose I shouldn’t rule out anything these days, but I would think not.” 

Din sighed, becoming frustrated when she didn’t immediately elaborate. Feeling his frustration, she shook herself from old memories and continued her explanation. 

“The Jedi Code, taught by Master Yoda, forbade personal attachments. For him to have children - a biological child– it would be difficult for me to believe.” 

“What was the reason?” He needed to know what to expect. His knowledge of who they were, of what _his kid_ could become – it was important. How was this child expected to be raised? 

The kid cooed and moved closer. _His kid_. To his surprise he experienced no crashing wave of guilt at the thought. 

“Well it’s a moot point now, but the power we have is in our blood. A powerful force user could start a living force dynasty - which historically has always ended poorly. So – no children.” Her mood shifted and she looked down at the others with a grim look. “There is a side of us that pulls toward an easier more violent path. You felt something similar in your past, no?” 

His chest tightened and fear rose as memories of an angry and violent younger self surfaced. He held those dark days deep and buried away. Here again was the downside of spending time with those who could see his mind, helmet be damned. 

“The effect on Force users can be devastating. You have seen what his attachment to you has caused. Imagine what might happen as he grows older. Stronger.” 

“People do that, don’t they? That’s not just for you sorcerers.” The conversation was getting away from him, but he resisted the desire to stay silent. “I got attached to this one and ruined the lives of everyone close to me.” 

She looked at him sadly. “From a certain point of view, yes. And do you regret your choice?” 

He may regret certain outcomes, but he shook his head. “No, I’d do it again if I had to.” 

“You, Cara, Sabine – you have moments in your past where you chose a cruel path. This little one will be faced with similar moments, I’m sure.” She looked troubled. “There is an aspect of the Force that will tempt him during these moments. The Jedi call it the dark side. A simple name for a complicated concept.” She grimaced. “Drawing on it is an easy path to power, but it can corrupt and destroy.” 

He wasn’t sure he understood. “Like you said, we all have moments where we give in to our demons.” 

“Yes, but you don’t become possessed by a cosmic force when it happens.” 

The lengths he would go to keep this kid safe were endless, but how in the hell could he protect him from some unseen thing? Despite the outrageous circumstances he often found himself in, he considered himself to be a simple man. Now his shaky grasp of his corner of the universe was vanishing. He looked around to the edges of the forest and felt like a kid again, fearing for the shadowy monsters hiding beyond his sight. 

“No one would blame you if you felt you couldn’t raise him.” She watched him with an unreadable expression. 

The kid cooed mournfully, and Din pulled him into his arms, along with the holocron. “I would. He would.” 

He wasn’t sure what to expect, but Ahsoka smiled. “Good answer.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you to anyone who is still reading my little story. It felt good to finally have a chance to write again! With my hours being cut and layoffs on the horizon, I decided to future proof myself and get a second job. The last three week have been CRAZY. I've finally figured out a routine to balance both jobs so now I hope I can start writing more regularly!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara and Din try to make a plan.

“Has he said anything useful?” 

“Maybe.” Cara shrugged. She was standing in the entrance of the temple, thinking of days gone by. With the heartache she endured in the past, she was never one to get nostalgic, yet here she was. She turned towards Din. “Pretty sure Endi works for the Suns. Got on their bad side trying to find me. Seems like the rest used this to their advantage once they figured out our connections - wanted to cash in on the various warrants and bounties on your head.” 

He sighed and shook his head. She punched his arm as he stood next to her. 

“Don’t you go feeling guilty about this. I'm the one who made us known, after all.” 

The kid shifted in his arms and for the first time she noticed he had acquired a new shiny toy. A crystal looking cube nestled against him. The kid, who was usually alert and focused on everything happening around him, remained singularly focused on the small object. 

“What do you want to do about it?” 

“Well, I’m in no mood to take on the whole gang."

"But you want this Endi Gor.”

She nodded and held up a data stick, given to her a few hours prior by Sabine. “This has all the information that Sabine and Cal were able to recover from the seeker droid and datapad. Wanna look – see if we can come up with a plan?” 

“Planning, wouldn't that be nice.” His tone was dry, but she swore she heard a ghost of a smile. “Let’s plug it in to the Crest, see what we can find out.” 

He stepped towards the ship and she grabbed his arm. “Wait, wait. I want to leave as soon as we have an idea where to look. You should tell the others.” 

“You think we need to leave right away?” 

“Shouldn’t we? Gives them less chance to regroup, rebuild.” 

He thought about it and nodded. She dropped her hand as he turned around and headed back into the old building. Following him, they got halfway down the hallway when both Sabine and Ahsoka rounded the corner. 

“We thought you might leave without saying goodbye.” Without seeing Sabine's face, Cara couldn't tell if she was annoyed at this prospect. She also didn't bother asking how they were already aware of the decision. Either they were spying on them with tech or magic; both unnerved her. 

“We gotta get to the bottom of this before it gets out of hand.” 

Din turned his head to look at each of the women. “Will you be safe? We brought this on you -” 

“Oh, please.” Sabine waved dismissively. “They caught us off guard and still couldn’t take us down. We’ll be fine.” 

Ahoska smiled as the kid looked up at her, his attention finally torn from his new toy. It seemed as if they were having a silent conversation. After a moment, her eyes raised to Din's helmet. 

“You and the child are always welcome here. You as well, Cara.” 

She felt her name was tacked on as an afterthought. 

Cara winked. “Thanks. I love feeling wanted.” 

A smirk pulled at the Togruta’s lips and she bowed her head. “I’m glad to have met you.” 

Sabine walked forwards and the two Mandalorians clasped each other's vambrace covered forearms. A stark difference from the tense energy they displayed during their first meeting. 

“Don’t be a stranger, Djarin.” Her helmet cocked to one side. “I’d like to continue our conversation one day.” 

“Likewise. Ret'urcye mhi.” 

"K'oyacyi."

They turned to leave, Din with a little more reluctance. Their walk to the ship was silent – both wrapped up in the changes looming over their lives. It wasn’t until the ship was sealed and both sat in the cramped cockpit before the silence was broken. 

“I haven’t really been paying attention to what’s going with you – the situation with the kid, well...” He trailed off and swiveled in his chair to face her. “How are you feeling?” 

Cara exhaled and laughed bitterly. “I don’t know.” 

Distracted, her fingers traced the edges of the datastick as she considered her predicament. “I hated him once – but now? I … just feel sorry for him. Even if he is behind all this.” After a moment of idle reflection, she handed him the information device. 

He wasted no time in plugging it in to the ship. Pages of crude data began filling the screen. 

“Did the Falleen say anything that would point us in the right direction?” 

Not especially, she thought. She was scraping the bottom of the barrel of helpful information. 

“Hmm - he mentioned he stole Endi’s droid shortly after finding out what he had done.” 

Din startled and scrolled quickly through random bits of data. “The Jedi – Cal. He mentioned the droid tried activating some sort of capture protocol.” 

“Yeah?” She wasn’t following. He gestured to the screen, to a highlighted set of coordinates. The Falleen may have stopped the capture protocol, but the droids programming still provided a time stamp and the coordinates of where it happened. 

“Ah, I see. Well, thank the makers for redundancies and stupid gangsters.” 

“The droid’s last location was Nevarro. But the first few were over Ord Mantell, according to the nav.” 

The name of the planet was immediately discouraging. This was where the gang notoriously based their operations. “There’s no way then. Barging in on them while on some backwater hole is one thing – but we can’t do this -” 

“The Empire took over Ord Mantell. The Sun doesn’t quite have the hold over it that they used to.” He brought up the precise galactic coordinates. “And in better news, in our case _over_ Ord Mantell means Quantxi.” 

Cara smiled. “The junk moon of Ord Mantell.” She laughed at the absurdity. Some of their actions were beginning to make sense. The Black Sun was known for many things, wealth and resources being a couple. Before the Empire, they had an organization that rivaled and exceeded most armies. “No wonder these assholes are after us. They’re desperate.” 

Crime organizations rarely sought out bounties. They might take advantage of an idiot who wanders into their path, but they were more often the subject of said bounty. It was something that just didn’t seem right to her during the interrogation of their prisoner. The Sun was more likely to use a bounty to blackmail a person into working for them rather than turn them in and waste a resource. It told her the chapter that Endi belonged to was desperate for credits. Not exactly flush with resources. 

“We’re a little noticeable, you and me. How do you want to do this?” 

“You, more than me.” She grinned. “I just gotta slap a mask or helmet on and I’m good. Maybe a jacket. You?” She shook her head. “I’ll think of something.” 

“Okay, supply run and then onto Ord Mantell.” He began the pre-launch check list. “Hopefully we figure out a plan in between.” 

Cara grimaced. It was a risky prospect rushing in with piss poor intel, but she had no plans on walking around with this hanging over like a shadow. Maybe dealing with Endi would finally allow her to move on; to stop living like she was just biding her time. She supposed she’d find out soon enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Ret'urcye mhi - A farewell. Literally translated it is "Maybe we'll meet again"
> 
> K'oyacyi - Has several meanings, in this context it would either mean, "Come back safely", or "Stay alive."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supply Run!

Cara walked the crowded pathways of the Glee Bazaar, feeling more comfortable than she had in days. Being lost in the crowd, being no one special; it was refreshing. The market grounds were filled with Nautolans, off-worlders, and enough humans for her not to look out of place. Here, the gathered masses felt like security. No one cared enough to give her a second glance. Hundreds of people hoping to sell, hoping to buy, pressing in on all sides. A range of dialects and languages swelled and ebbed, battling with the warbling songs of a faltering sound system. The din made it near impossible to have casual conversation, thankfully she had no plans to chat up the locals. This was nothing more than a discrete supply run, she hoped to have this over with as soon as possible. 

The necessary supplies had been purchased and sent to the ship, now she wandered the stall ways, hoping to find inspiration. Something to make Din less obvious. If they were to launch this harebrained scheme, it would be beneficial to not make their presence known the moment they landed. 

Outside the bazaar, the rain picked up; beyond each entrance, water could be seen falling in sheets, immediately drenching any poor soul venturing out. A couple of sellers rushed to one of the entrances, making a scene over some of their wares, shoving material in the faces of nearby shoppers. She recognized these ones – they were staples of the Bazaar – always here whenever she had visited in the past. Shrewd flirts, she thought. The Su Sisters. Cara wandered in their direction and moved with purpose when she realized what they were selling. Weather-proof ponchos. This might solve two of her problems. Covering up the Mandalorian’s armor and keeping herself dry as she trudged her way back to the Crest through this storm. 

“Avoid the rain! Stay dry with these _premium_ ponchos!” The shorter Nautolan shouted. Cara snorted, but couldn’t judge their hustle. They switched to another language, then repeated the statement once more in Basic. 

“I suppose their “premium status” increased with the rainfall?” She called out over the noise. 

The short blue woman looked over at her, mid-spiel. She sized her up and grinned, her eyes sparkling with recognition. “Ahh, my favourite future customer, maybe I’ll finally convince you to buy something. You don’t agree the rain increases the value?” 

Cara shrugged at the bold honesty. “Let me be the judge – what about the grey one?” She pointed to the one held by the woman’s partner. It looked to be made for a person with broad shoulders. Perfect for a person wearing armor. 

“Good eye.” The shorter woman fiddled with one of her head tentacles. “Weather-proof; keeps you warm on a cool day and cool on a warm day. 85 credits.” 

Cara barked with laughter. “No way that’s over 40. It better deflect a vibroblade at that price.” She shook her head. “I’ll pay 50 at most. Better idea, throw in an extra for me and I’ll pay you 85.” 

“An extra and its 100.” 

“90 and I tell everyone I meet about your galaxy class ponchos.” 

The Nautolan laughed and reached over to nudge her chin. “Out of everything I want to be known for – I don’t think that-” Her expression froze as she caught sight of something over Cara’s shoulder. She turned to see what was drawing her attention, but the Nautolan grabbed her hand. 

“No, no. Don’t look.” She was pulled in close by the shorter woman, who was now strangely fixated on her face. This was either a very intense shop owner, or it was one the weirdest propositions in recent memory. The woman’s large dark eyes narrowed into a squint. “I don’t suppose there are other human women with a Rebel starbird on their faces, wandering the grounds?” 

Damn it. She didn’t think her tattoos would be a problem in the mid-rim. She shoved the woman backwards. 

“No, wait.” She gestured to her partner, who held up a foldable rack of ponchos effectively cutting off their view. “Some folks have been asking about a woman with your description, gave me a weird feeling at the time – oh, yep, now they’re coming this way.” 

It took a moment for her brain to catch up with what she was hearing. 

“Imperials?” It was all she could think of. The Black Sun certainly wasn’t welcome on Glee Anselm. The woman looked at her with pity, and it made her mad. She knew what the woman was thinking; Cara was a veteran whose brain couldn’t move on from the war. Forever traumatized. 

“No, but I got the sense they didn’t have good intentions.” She shoved a bundle into Cara’s arms. “Go. Consider it an IOU with interest.” She winked and flashed a strained smile. Cara wasn’t sure what she did to deserve such consideration, but she nodded and vanished into the cloud-darkened exterior. As expected, she got immediately drenched. Looking down at what had been shoved into her arms, it was a poncho wrapped around a smaller object. She unraveled it and moved behind a couple of the booths that crowded against the exterior of the bazaar. The object was a holosnap of a human male and woman, talking with a Mon Cal. 

She wasn’t sure what it meant, the image quality was poor and taken from an angle that obscured their faces. Shoving it into one of her belt pouches, she threw on the poncho and crouched. There was no real reason for her to trust the seller, but she’d stay put for a moment and watch the entrance. See if anyone was following. Pulling the hood further down over her face, she strained against the down pour, trying to listen for any approaching footsteps. 

Two figures stepped out of the entrance, clothed in outer wear suitable for the current weather. They took a moment to observe their surroundings before nodding to each other and continuing on their way. They stopped again at the beginning of the raised boardwalk that led back to the nearby spaceport, and chatted. Were they waiting for her, she wondered? Odd for them to just hang around in these conditions. Reaching for her comlink, she clicked it three times, wanting Din’s attention in case she needed to send a quick message. Backing away from her hiding spot, she quietly moved down to another entrance. Better to be safe than sorry, she would cut across the Bazaar and come at the spaceport the long way round. Reentering the busy space felt safe once again. Still, she kept the hood of her poncho firmly over her head. Pushing through the sea of bodies, she forced herself to act casual, to look at some of the wares she was passing. The hair prickled at the back of her neck, and she resisted the urge to look around the crowded area. Counting the seconds, she waited for a group to pass in front of her before pushing out through yet another of the many entrances and exits. A walkway stretched out across the churning sea, connecting to floating buildings and manmade islands, before eventually wrapping back around to the other side of the bay. Back to the spaceport. 

She clocked two individuals walking towards her from the direction of the last exit. She kept her head down and continued walking. Even overtop the noise from the storm, she could hear heavy footfalls picking up their pace. Glee Anselm had strict weapon restrictions for off-worlders. Her blasters and rifle were back on the Crest, leaving her feeling slightly disadvantaged. 

“Carasynthia Dune!” She flinched at the sound of her name. Anyone who called her by her full name in earnest, died on Alderaan. Nowadays it was what her enemy called her. Not stopping, she picked up her hunched pace, hoping to look as if she was just a random citizen. Ahead of her, just before the first of the floating structures, a figure emerged from the water and climbed on top of the boardwalk. Mon Calamari. No clue on whether it was the same Mon Cal from the holo. When it was clear they were attempting to block her from going any further, she slowed down. 

“Gonna let me by?” She asked, with as much snark as she could muster. They didn’t focus on her, but at a space behind her. She looked over her shoulder in time to see a human man reaching for her arm. Pushing herself backwards, she angled her elbow upwards, impacting with his nose. He staggered back, holding his nose as blood began pouring out. The woman accompanying him rushed in and attempted to put her in a choke hold. 

“Dune, we just want to talk.” The woman said through clenched teeth. 

“Funny way of – going – about it.” Cara responded, while prying the woman’s arms away. Cara leapt forwards and felt the crackle of a stun baton whisk by the back of her head. She dropped to the boardwalk and slid forwards, giving herself enough room to turn and aim a well-placed kick to the woman’s knee. The woman stumbled and the baton dropped out of her hand. In her peripheral she noticed the Mon Cal creeping closer and grabbed the knife she kept hidden in her boot. They paused at the sight of the weapon, but just for a moment. Another arm wrapped around her neck, this time it was the human male. She pried at his arm to no avail. Even with his injury he held on tight. She was strong, but in this case, maybe not strong enough. Struggling to breath, she waited for the Mon Cal to get close and kicked him as hard as she could. It knocked him on his ass, and he slid back a few feet across the wet surface. Not able to free herself, she pulled both knees up to her chest. Unprepared to support her full weight, he lost his footing and rolled right over her head. The imbalance sent both her and the human crashing to the floor. He righted himself faster than her and latched onto the collar of her poncho. Behind them, the woman limped closer, equipped once again with the stun baton. Cara was giving a good fight, but it was clear they were holding back. They seemed liked people who weren’t strangers to a fight, and they didn’t want her dead. But she lived long enough to know sometimes capture was not better than death. 

“Hey! What’s going on?” Words called from the nearby entry way. “All of you stop-” Her attackers froze for just a second and it was all she needed; she dropped out of the poncho, rolling off the boards and into the water. These weren’t random thugs; she would bet her entire weapon cache they were New Republic agents. Unfortunately for her, this was not necessarily a good thing. Kicking off the underside of the floating walkway, she swam down and in the direction of the Bazaar. 

The water wasn’t as cold as the mountain lakes she grew up around, but it still was enough to make her uncomfortable. She pushed herself forward until she reached the shadow of an overhang and surfaced, hoping it might provide a bit of cover. In a hurry, she grabbed her comlink, clicking in Din’s ID. “Hey pal,” She started, not even waiting to see if the waterlogged thing would still work. Something below the dark grey surface of the water grabbed her feet and dragged her downwards at an incredible speed. The comlink bobbed back up to the surface, leaving her scrambling to see what had grabbed hold of her. The glint of a Mon Cal’s eye stared back up at her. She flailed her arms and legs, attempting to loosen their grip. Freeing one foot, she jammed her heel into their face until they were forced to let go. Her lungs burned worse than before, and she struggled against the instinct to inhale. Kicking as hard as she could, she swam up towards the surface. After what felt like ages, her legs began to cramp and her pace began to slow. The bastard dragged her down deeper than she thought. 

The surface was still above her, still too far away. It didn't take long before her body pushed passed the point it could sustain without oxygen. Pain stabbed through her neck and chest. Her head pounded. In the last moments of consciousness, hands wrapped around her, pulling her deeper into the sea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been sponsored by the (unique?) fashion choice of one Cal Kestis.
> 
> I like to think the poncho is the star wars equivalent of blue jeans. They're so dang versatile and everyone has at least a pair in their closet.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara has been captured!

“Hey, Cara. _Cara_.” 

A voice reached through to her muddled, mostly unconscious brain. She blinked slowly, having not a single recollection of where she was. It took a good minute before her mind caught up with her body. The attack on Glee Anselm. A Mon Cal dragging her down below the surface – she had vague memories of an underwater airlock before succumbing completely to the lack of oxygen. 

Now, she drooled into a plasteel surface - a bench of some sort, in a sterile white room. A cell on a Mon Cal ship, she assumed. 

“Good, you’re awake.” 

Her body felt heavy and she was saddled with a splitting headache. She would much rather sleep through whatever this was, but it wasn’t to be. Survival instincts started to kick in. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stared over at the owner of the voice. 

Staring at her from the opposite bench was Endi Gor. His face was gaunt, he was scruffy and ill-kempt. He wore a non-descript jumpsuit. It held no branding or insignia. She looked down at herself. At some point during her unconsciousness, she had been stripped and dressed in an identical uniform. That wasn’t important. No, her immediate concern was the man in her cell. The sight of him triggered old painful memories. Any pity she had in heart vanished, it was replaced with an anger she couldn’t explain. She was pretty sure the debilitating headache was what held her back from leaping over and strangling the man. 

“Where the hell are we?” She looked around the cell. No windows, no openings, only a single door. “And why the hell are you here?” 

“It’s complicated-” 

“I’m sure.” 

“It’s good to see you, all things considered.” 

For whatever reason, the platitude was the thing that pushed her over the edge. She leapt at him, he tried to duck out the way, but she grabbed him by the throat. He made a choking sound and tried grabbing at her arm; she threw him against the white wall of the cell. The impact stunned him, and she held her forearm against his throat, pinning him to the wall. 

“What have you done.” She whispered through clenched teeth. “Who are these people?” 

He looked at her with wide eyes and clawed at her arm. To their right, the door slid open and armed individuals rushed in. 

“Don’t trust -” Endi whispered but was interrupted by the guards pulling them apart. He stared at her with intense remorse, which only confused her further. She let herself be pushed out of the cell by the others. The corridor was small; from where she stood, she could see the cargo area on one end and the cockpit at the other. A small ship. The door shut behind her, sealing Endi in. The guards let her go but stood close in a way that was meant to send a message. _She was not to be trusted._

In front of her a human male watched in silence. He had an aura of self-importance that she immediately wanted to deflate. 

“Carasynthia Dune.” He bowed his head in greeting. His nose was still discoloured from where her elbow impacted. 

“Am I a prisoner?” She pulled at the rough material of the jumpsuit. 

“I’m sorry, considering our - _introduction_ we decided it would be safer for all involved to detain you first. Clearly that still backfired.” 

She tapped the side of her nose with a grin. “I got you good.” 

He bristled, but only for a moment. “I extend my deepest apologies. We were in desperate need to speak with you – and things escalated. Unfortunately.” 

Her headache spiked with each sentence. “Well, you got me now. What’s this about?” 

“You served the Rebel Alliance well. It’s a shame the New Republic doesn’t value that service.” He offered his hand in greeting. “I am Agent Armand.” 

Cara stared at him in silence and he eventually dropped the hand. The name felt familiar in an uncomfortable way. His lips pressed into a thin line and he nodded towards the back of the ship. 

“Well, we certainly value your work. This way, if you don’t mind.” She followed him at a slow pace, taking note of her surroundings. It was a neat and tidy ship, not much lying around. Nothing that hinted at a manifesto one way or the other. The end of the corridor opened into a large cargo area. It was stacked nearly floor to ceiling with crates and prefab units. To her right, she spotted hatches to three escape pods. 

“Planning on building a base?” She asked, her tone mocking. 

“Yes, actually.” He leaned against the guard rail of the platform they stood on. 

Down below, several Mon Cal’s milled about the area, checking various readouts. She had been on enough of them to realize this was a Mon Calamari ship. They made up the majority of the Rebel Alliance’s fleet. 

“The New Republic can’t afford to ignore the threat of the Imperial Remnant. Since most of those rats scurried out to the Outer Rim, it’s been decided to create an outpost of sorts.” 

She noted the lack of insignia or symbol on any of the units or uniforms. They weren’t trying to broadcast who they were. She eyed him with a healthy amount of suspicion. 

“And we find ourselves in need of people familiar with the territory. We feel you would be a perfect candidate.” His expression turned contrite. “It took us awhile to track you down.” 

Blood started pumping faster, it felt like her neck had a heartbeat. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. She did know it wasn’t fighting for the New Republic. Besides, this sales pitch was a little too clean and a little too vague. She also wasn’t too proud to admit out of anyone he could pursue as assets, she and Endi Gor would never be his top candidates. 

“Bullshit.” 

He stared at her, contemplating. The corners of his lips turning up into a smirk. “You don’t believe we need you?” 

Cara shielded her eyes from the bright overhead lights and looked over at the other personnel on board. Not all of them were armed. “Oh, everyone needs me if we’re being honest. But I don’t believe for a second _you_ are after _me_.” 

“What do you mean?” He chuckled affably enough. “Do you think we would have pursued you if we didn’t?” 

“Hey, _friend.”_ She stepped close. “This whole operation stinks of shit. Tell me what you really want and we’re in business.” 

Agent Armand’s jaw set and he stared at her with hard eyes before snapping at the group that surrounded her. “Return her to the cell.” 

She laughed. “You’re no spymaster.” She called out as they dragged her away. “The New Republic is worse off than I thought if you are.” 

They shoved her back into the cell, the door sealing quickly behind her. Endi stood in the middle of the cell, wringing his hands. 

“Oh good, you’re ok.” He nearly collapsed with relief. 

Cara walked to bench she woke up on and sat down, resting her head back against the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed her bad luck. 

“Cara I -” 

“Shut-up.” 

Silence. 

_Damnit_. She should have stayed on Nevarro. Or on Ahoska’s mystery Jedi world. Had tracking Endi down really been that important? What was she thinking? 

“Did they say why they wanted you?” 

Her laugh was dark and hard as she met his gaze. “They don’t want me.” No one ever looked for her and her alone. “What the hell is going on Endi?” 

He managed some garbled words before clearing his throat. “Like I said, it’s a bit complicated.” 

“How about this – you needed credits and figured I would make an easy target? Wanted to get back at me, turn me and my friends in for a fee? Is that the complicated reason?” 

“You don’t understand. I’m not eligible to live on New Alderaan under the Reparation Act. But –but, I if -” 

“Endi, stop!” She had no patience for him. She spent too much of her life resenting him for her to be the better person now. “You are an ex-Imperial, and from what I hear a member of the Black Sun. Why the hell would they ever allow you anywhere.” 

He looked crestfallen. 

“People like you and me, we have no place in the New Republic. The sooner you realize that, the better.” She offered as half-hearted commiseration. 

“I’m so lonely." He muttered, with a look that suggested he couldn’t believe what he was confessing. His eyes were watery. He looked away and struggled to control his emotions. 

Cara let him have a moment. Minutes passed before he cleared his throat and turned back to her. 

“I was looking for you – but I didn’t - it wasn’t for credits. I was hoping to convince you one last time that I didn’t betray the Alliance. Maybe you could help me prove it. I, uh – I made the mistake of using work resources, and –well- my boss found out.” 

The story checked out so far. She wanted to believe him, but she had been burned too many times in the past. 

“She started poking around in my stuff and we found out you were with wanted people. I tried to stop them - ” He shook his head and fell silent. 

“How the hell did you fall in with these assholes?” She asked when he didn’t continue. 

“My boss sent some people to scope out your place on Nevarro. I guess they made too much noise.” He shrugged. "Next thing I know our hideout is being raided and these guys dragged me along with them,” He gestured to the rest of the ship. “They want me to help them set up a base or something. That’s something right? Maybe if I do good, they’ll clear my name?” His eyes widened and they shifted slightly to the security equipment monitoring them. She got the message. 

Cara's mind was made up. They needed to escape and despite her confused feelings, with Endi on her side, her odds of escaping just increased. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i've said this before, but I'm *preetty sure* i'm getting close to the end of this story. maybe 3 more chapters.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din is left playing catch up after Cara is captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Din's pov! I'm having a bit of a writer's block for the next chapter, but not apparently for Din, so I'm posting this instead.

“Well, here’s the last of them.” A voice called from outside the ship. Din walked down the ramp as a white-haired human pushed a grav-cart towards him. Overhead, the constant patter of rain intensified. The cheap tarpaulin covering the top of this derelict part of the port looked about ready to give way. 

“Wait.” Din held up his hand and the woman stopped. The cart was full of crates sent from Cara’s excursion around the market. Keying in her ID, he lifted the lid of each one to inspect the contents. Medical supplies, ration packs, grenades, energy packs, ammo – it wasn’t all for Endi Gor’s extraction - ship supplies were running dangerously low. He reached in and picked up a soft, stylized model of a tooka-cat and smiled behind his helmet. Cara was more sentimental than she cared to admit. Closing the crates, he nodded. These would do. The question now was why hadn’t she returned with the purchase. 

The Glee Bazaar was the sort of place one could buy or trade these sorts of items in bulk and not be questioned. He had only been in the Mid Rim for a few hours and the restrictions were already chafing him. No one would bat an eye in the Outer Rim if you needed a crate of grenades. 

“Quite the haul, you’s got here.” The elderly woman observed. 

“Yep.” He had nothing to add to the observation. He waited for her to leave, but she remained in place with an awkward look about her. 

She cleared her throat. “Well your friend said you’d be paying a tip on account of me letting you dock here all quiet like – and uh – fielding the deliveries...” Her voice trailed off, as his helmeted head turned towards her. 

Reaching into one of his pouches, he pulled out a few credits, near as he figured would be worth a day's wages and handed them to her. He hated to see the money go, this haul had nearly drained him dry, but he knew the value of keeping the dockworkers happy. She didn’t have to let them dock here, quiet and out of the way; she might lose her job if she was found out. 

Beaming at the credits, she pocketed them and bowed her head. 

“Thanks, young man. Thank you.” She called out, already scurrying back to her post. Sighing, he powered up the grav-cart and pushed it up into the ship. He hadn’t made it halfway up the ramp before his comlink beeped. And again. Then a third time. Pausing to investigate, he caught a flash of Cara’s ID before it went dead once more. For a moment he stood frozen with indecision. Was she in trouble? He was annoyed she insisted on going alone, but they both agreed that he made more of a target than she did, even if she was the one the Suns were gunning for. When no further message came through, he continued loading up the ship – making sure everything was put away in their locked compartments. Kid could control a fireball, but still shoved anything on the ground into his mouth. Nothing could be left lying around. 

His work finished, he sat back and eyed the entrance. He didn't care for water planets under normal circumstances – armor and bodies of water never really mix. But something made him feel ill at ease. From the bunk the boy cried. Could just be a nightmare – not that the kid’s nightmares were easy to deal with. The cries continued and he moved over to check on him. 

“Ad’ika.” He murmured, placing a hand against his head. The kid blinked up at him and pointed to the other side of the ship. He looked and saw nothing. From his belt, his comlink beeped again. 

“Hey pal,” Cara’s voice started, before a wave of distortion cut her off. He stared at the comlink, waiting for more words, but none came. He looked down at the boy. 

“Think something’s gone wrong?” 

The kid nodded. 

“Cara?” He waited for a reply. When none came, he clicked through to her comlink three times, waiting to hear a similar reply. 

“Cara?” He inquired again. Again, no response. 

Without a word he scooped him up and placed him in the pack, securing it across his chest. Punching in a few commands, the ship closed and locked tight behind him. He wouldn’t leave anything to chance. Knocking on the window of the elderly woman’s station, he waited for her to greet him. After a few minutes, the grate slid open and she stuck her head out. 

“Ehh, yes?” She asked, eyeing him apprehensively. 

“I need to step out, do you have a cloak I could use?” 

She stared down at him with a blank expression. 

“The rain -” He gestured to the billowing tarpaulin roof. 

“Oh, right.” The woman shuffled away, and he waited with increasing restlessness as the sounds of her fumbling drifted out from the opening. Finally, a wad of dark green material was pushed through the opening and into his arms. 

“This was left behind by a runt of a wookie. Normal length outerwear for him, probably floor length for you. Should keep you dry.” 

Dry wasn’t his main concern. He was paranoid his armor would get him ambushed the second he stepped outside the port. 

“Thank you. This shouldn’t take long.” 

“Oh, I’m not goin’ anywhere.” She drawled. 

He slipped the green cloak over his armor and pulled the hood over his helmet. The wookie might have been a runt, but it was still oversized for a human. He got the sense he looked like a deflated tent. Wrapping the excess fabric around him, he stepped out into the downpour. The weather was oppressive, and he pushed forward through the ramshackle walkways, towards the main boardwalk. Waiting a moment, he scoped out the exterior, watching for any threats. People rushed back and forth, not paying attention to anyone else as they hurried to get out of the rain. At his side the kid was restless, trying to escape from his pack. Din placed a gentle hand against the kid, a silent gesture of comfort before stepping out onto the boardwalk. The amount of foot traffic thinned out the closer they got to the Bazaar. The outer area was nearly empty of anything notable, barring a Nautolan couple staring into the water. 

He stepped into the nearby entrance. The sea of people moving around and between the market stalls made this outing exponentially more difficult. There was no way to have an advantage in an environment like this. It would be impossible to find her. Stepping back, he waited to make sure no one was overtly observing him before attempting to hail Cara again. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but she still didn’t respond. However, the distinct chime of a comlink sounded a few meters to his right. The two Nautolans he spied earlier startled and backed away from the edge of the boardwalk, nearly dropping something into the water. 

Din began walking towards them and thumbed on his comlink. The thing they nearly dropped chimed at the same time. Cara’s comlink. He unholstered his pistol. 

“You! Where did you get that?” His voice was quiet, but stern. 

The two jumped and this time they did drop it. The shorter of the two shook her head and pointed wordlessly towards another boardwalk. When he didn’t look, she stepped forwards. Nothing came up on his sensors, and he assumed she was attempting to distract him. Shoving her backwards, he aimed his pistol at her, waving them both back. 

“Where is Cara! Where did you get the comlink?” 

The woman gulped and finally found her voice. “We’re friends. Friends. She –she -” The Nautolan pointed to the water. “She went in – she hasn’t come back -” 

The kid squealed and chose that time to push out of the pack, placing both hands on his side. An image forced itself into his mind. Cara and the blue Nautolan talking. Smiling. A friend. A warning offered in good faith. The scene screamed louder in his mind. 

“Ok kid, I understand.” 

The women looked at each other, confused. The image promptly vanished from his mind. He lowered the gun but kept it in hand. “Tell me what happened. Now.” 

“Two humans were asking for her. I – I didn’t think anything of it – not at first. I – she’s not been around for so long...” The woman was rambling, and Din was impatient. 

“Who were these humans?” 

“Uh they didn’t say. Here.” She grabbed a cylindrical device from her partners hands and picked up the dropped comlink, handing both to him. “I have an image. Something about them made me uneasy – I was going to give this to security. I gave it to Cara instead.” 

The device contained a holo-image displaying two humans and a Mon Calamari, having an intense conversation. He appreciated the attempt, but the image was near useless. Their faces were largely obscured and the humans both had their heads covered. He had a good idea of who they might be – in his experience if you came across a group of humans and Mon Calamari working together, it was a good bet they were either Rebels or with the New Republic. 

“One of them dragged her into the water. We followed-” She gestured to herself and the other Nautolan. “But there was a ship – they-” 

“Underwater?” He looked down at the dark shifting waters, hiding all sorts of danger in its murky depths. This posed a challenge. “They brought her onto a ship underwater?” The urge to act was leaving him restless, but he had no leads, nothing solid to put him on the right track. 

“A shuttle. It was more like a shuttle.” 

Could she escape? Being underwater seemed as hopeless as being lost in space. A sharp fear twisted his gut, and he grit his teeth against a wave of painful memories; his parents broken bodies, his adopted people being razed by the Empire, the mangled and broken armor of his brothers and sisters beneath the city of Nevarro. He and Cara didn’t have a relationship that went back years, and generally they were just fine knowing the other was alive somewhere in the galaxy, but she felt important. It was too soon to lose someone else. 

He sighed. “I need your help, please describe everything you saw.” 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still captured, Cara thinks about escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer to get out. Usually because I'm not confident in my ability to write fight scenes I have my brother read them to make sure they're fun to read and make sense....but he's busy and I dont want to wait so I'm just going to post this sucker.

Agent Armand. 

Cara sat across from him in a room that looked like a makeshift office; desks shoved up against crates and shelves, barely any room for accompanying chairs. They sat in the cramped space, regarding each other with suspicion. She didn’t know what to make of him. The man had the sharp features of an Imperial officer but possessed a weariness that belonged to a rebel. 

Despite her best intentions, she had drifted in and out of sleep while ignoring Endi’s nervous chatter and consequently lost track of time. At some point, Armand finally decided to stop whatever power trip he was on and brought her in for a chat. However, now she was here, and it had been a few minutes where nothing was being said and she was, as always, restless. 

Cara sighed. “You’re wasting both our time.” She had no patience to deal with whatever this silence was attempting to achieve. 

He waited a few seconds later than what was socially acceptable to respond. Funny how Din could do the same thing and it didn’t faze her. This guy – she had to physically resist reacting with violence. 

“I would like to have an honest conversation.” 

She snorted. “Alright, good.” She held him in a steely gaze, waiting for the honesty to start. 

“We obviously have some trust issues. I’d like to repair that.” 

This time she allowed herself a tired laugh. Either this guy was an idiot, or he thought she was. “You always attack people you want on your side?” 

“I believe you attacked first-” 

“Yeah, because three creeps asked around the market for me and then ambushed me on an empty walkway. How would you react?” She shifted restlessly. “And how the hell did you know I was going to be there? I didn’t even know I was making a stop here.” 

He sat back and looked at her carefully, probably wondering what he could get away with saying. 

“We were in the area. You and your mystery partner aren’t as stealthy as you think." 

_Aha_. Now this was something. She was about to reach the point of this ridiculous diversion. She arched an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. 

Noticing her skeptical look, he smiled. “You think your Mandalorian could hijack a New Republic prison ship and get away with it? The friends he left sure had some interesting stories to tell.” 

_Well, shit._ When Din told her about his little heist adventure, she got annoyed with him for nearly two straight days. Why he didn’t kill those mercenaries was beyond her. His damn code of honour got in the way of tactical thinking. 

“His ship has been on our radar ever since.” 

She leaned forwards with a sly smile. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Why am I actually here?” 

Armand weighed potential outcomes; she could see in his eyes as he considered if it was safe to speak. 

“I haven’t lied to you – I just haven’t told you the full truth.” 

Cara stared at him expectantly. She had already laid out her terms of cooperation, it was up to him to fulfil them. 

“Across the Outer Rim, the Imperial Remnant have devolved into some sort of mad cannibalistic frenzy – destroying each other for some elusive prize.” He shrugged. “We took notice. We heard whispers here and there of what they were after, but it wasn’t until the prison ship that we began putting this particular puzzle together.” 

_Shit._ She hoped her face didn’t betray her feelings. She knew Din well enough that he was just as likely to let the New Republic take his boy as the Imperials; the thing is no one cared if you murdered a bunch of Imperials. A bunch of dead New Republic officers might not go over so well. This could go very bad, very fast. 

She crossed her arms and looked at him in frustration. “Then I started reaching out to my army buddies and you realized I was connected. An in.” 

“Thanks to Endi, yes. And you should be thankful we helped get rid of those pesky Suns. They won’t be coming after you anymore.” 

_Damnit_ _Endi_ _. “_ Well if you know so much why do you need me? Just go get him. Better yet, tell me why the New Republic wants him.” 

There was a tense pause as they stared each other down. The ship rattled as it began moving, the familiar punch of the engines indicated they were ascending. Armand ignored it. Cara looked around nervously. Leaving the planet would make escape exponentially more difficult. 

“We need an introduction. The Imps are destroying everything in their path to get back what he stole. It’s too much collateral damage. We want to approach him as a friend and take what they’re after out of the equation.” 

_Ha, good luck._ Did they know what the kid was, or did they just want to stop the Imp’s from getting what they wanted. Did they know the kid could do magic? She wanted to ask about Luke Skywalker – was he involved with this effort? Was he trying to collect Force users? Then again, if they didn’t know, she didn’t want to be the one to make the reveal. In her mind the kid belonged with Din, no one else had a claim on him – expect maybe the birth parents, if they existed. 

“Why should I trust you, why are you any different?” 

He looked at her incredulous. “You want me to explain how _we_ are different from the Empire?” 

“So far you haven’t done anything to convince me otherwise. Also, my friend didn’t steal, he rescued. There’s nothing for you guys to worry about.” 

His lips twisted into a smirk. “Rescued? Hmm - does that mean the bounty is a person?” 

Cara scowled, but didn’t respond. She didn’t give away shit. This man knew about the kid. What an ass. He put all this effort into “collecting” her and didn't know what the bounty was? Right, what kind of mind games was he playing? 

The makeshift office they sat in opened out into the main cargo area. A human popped their head into the room and gave her a cursory glance. Cara heard others call him Afra. 

“We’re in orbit sir, waiting on your signal. 

Armand nodded. 

“You’re still not telling me everything. You want me to believe this whole outfit -” She gestured to the cargo. “Is to prevent a bit of collateral damage from Imps in the Outer Rim?” 

“It is the first step.” He leaned forwards. “You recently had a number of warrants mysteriously vanish. I will grant the person behind it was talented, but nobody’s perfect.” 

The ship began to feel immensely claustrophobic. She’d have a talk with Karga if she ever made it back to Nevarro. Cara stood and stared him down with a positively murderous glare. Behind her Afra stepped back into the room. Armand dismissed him with a wave, the other man stood at ease but didn’t leave. 

“What do you want.” She pushed through a clenched jaw. She was not going to jail, not after everything she had been through. 

“I’ve already told you. We know where your friend is. We also know that taking him by force is – problematic. All I want is a friendly introduction with the Mandalorian. You do that and I will make sure the vanished warrants stay vanished.” 

Cara stared at him, her limbs nearly shaking in anger. She didn’t have to put on an act. The Rebel Alliance asked them to do truly terrible things in the name of freedom. Rebranding to the New Republic would never wash clean what they had been forced to do - no matter how much they pretended. This sort of bullshit hypocrisy was why she left in the first place. They couldn’t ask her to be a killer and then get shocked by the dead bodies. She needed to leave. Immediately. 

“Fine.” She lied. “But on one condition.” 

Her heart skipped a beat. She hoped she could pull off the act. 

“Name it.” 

“Let me kill Endi Gor.” 

His eyes widened and he glanced quickly to the other human at the door. 

This had the potential of ending very badly. “That idiot has been a burden to me ever since we left Alderaan.” The mention of the destroyed planet caused a flicker of pain in Armand’s eyes. “Sending you and the Black Sun after me -” She shook her head. “He’s gone too far.” 

He looked conflicted. She highly doubted he would condone a revenge killing on what she assumed was a New Republic ship, but she had to maneuver a situation where Endi was present. She needed to escape, and she was taking Endi with her. She wasn’t a complete monster, his tearful moping pushed her to empathy, but the decision wasn't motivated solely on pity. The man was a liability. 

“If your conscience is a problem, let me remind you he was a pilot stationed on the Death Star when Alderaan was destroyed. He fought for the Empire. He flew for the Black Sun.” 

After a moment of tense waiting, Armand stood and activated his comlink. 

“Aida, bring Endi Gor to the cargo hold.” 

After a few seconds, a crackled response. “Yessir.” 

“Sir?” The other human asked, concern apparent on his face. The eavesdropper did not care for the direction of their conversation. Cara turned to face him. He backed out of the room as she made her way towards the door. Armand moved out from behind his desk. 

“Stand down Cara. Afra, go help Aida.” 

The human – Afra – he didn't trust her, but he also wasn’t about to disobey his superior. Reluctantly, he left them to help his comrade. Cara smiled at him as he left and followed him out into the main cargo area. She didn’t look but was keenly aware of the escape pod hatches outside the office door. 

Armand wasn’t far behind. She didn’t like the way he was watching her. 

“You didn’t strike me as a person who kills her own.” 

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t. But he’s not my people.” She paced, pretending to idly look around the room while checking in between the crates and cargo. There were a few unarmed people minding their own business. No one else in the immediate vicinity. She paced back towards him and held out her hand. 

“I’ll need a gun.” 

He stood, unmoving. His expression unreadable. 

“Unless you want me to kill him with my bare hands. I can do it, but it will get messy.” 

A moment passed and then the façade dropped. He looked at her with scorn. 

“How stupid do you think I am?” Armand didn’t have patience to keep up with her bluff. 

She tried to keep her expression neutral. “You want an honest answer?” 

“You and Endi don't want to kill each other,” He reached for his com as Aida and Afra appeared with Endi. “The best I can do is keep you in different areas of the ship.” 

“How about letting me go.” 

His eyes darkened. “I don’t care what your record says. You are a criminal. You can help or go to jail.” 

The ships coms crackled to life as a Mon Cal’s alarmed voice cut through the tension. “Sir, a ship is approaching -” His voice cut off as the ship banked in a manner that not even the artificial gravity could counter. 

Each of them stumbled and she surged forwards, wrenching Armand’s arm towards her. They found their footing as another message sounded. “Sorry boss – had to maneuver out of the way. It’s the Razor Crest – should I engage?” 

A bit of hope surged through her. Her chances of escaping were now more than zero. 

Before he could respond, Cara grabbed Armand once again. He stumbled into her with a grunt and she leaned backwards before headbutting him with as much force as she could manage - without also knocking herself out. He cried out and reached for his nose as it began to bleed again. Cara staggered as her head rang from the impact. 

Two of the crew stepped out from between the cargo to see what the commotion was. Armand began to call out to them, and she used the distraction to her advantage. Balling her hand into a fist she threw her weight into a punch, impacting with his temple. She watched his eyes roll back and he dropped to the floor. At the entrance above, Afra unholstered his blaster and aimed down at her. Aida, she assumed, jumped down to the cargo bay floor aiming a pistol at her as well. Cara looked up at Endi and they shared a panicked look. The others aboard seemed frozen with indecision. Many complications were being instigated at once. Cara had to win now – she had to take advantage of the confusion. This was it, do or die. She nodded and a look of determination filled Endi’s face before he rushed Afra, body checking him into the railing. The woman fired at her, but she was already ducking, frantically checking Armand for a weapon. The bolt singed the air above her head, before impacting the wall of the ship. 

“Shit!” Cara grunted. These assholes weren’t even bothering with stun settings. Weren’t they with the Republic? Who the hell were they? Fumbling unsuccessfully with the clasp around his holstered blaster, she opted to use Armand in a more useful fashion. Hooking her arm under his chin, she picked him off the floor, holding him against her as a shield. He groaned and began blinking back into consciousness. Endi was still struggling with Afra. He managed to knock the blaster out of his hands and as it clattered on the floor, out of reach of everyone, Armand startled back into consciousness. 

“Everyone, stop or he dies!” She shouted, hoping for an agreeable crowd. 

“You have no weapon.” The woman sneered. 

Cara felt Armand shift and slowly reach for his belt. She squeezed her arm tighter against his throat, choking his airways. The ship banked once more and they each stumbled, desperate to keep their footing. Armand stopped resisting and she grabbed at whatever he was reaching for. This time able to wrench the weapon free, she armed herself. 

As the pilot of the ship dove into another sharp spin, Endi and the goon he was struggling with tipped right over the railing, sending them both tumbling down to meet the floor below. Switching the blaster to stun, Cara fired at the woman. She dove out of the way, Cara fired again, this time successfully dropping her. Armand, taking a que from her, swung his head backwards into her face. He didn’t have enough leverage to break anything, but it stunned her enough that her grip loosened. Her heart raced, pumping adrenaline through her veins as she struggled to keep him as hostage. He elbowed her repeatedly, connecting painfully with her unarmored stomach. He switched to wrestling the gun out of her hand. 

To her left, Endi scrambled after the dropped blaster while Afra rushed forwards, managing to land a hard kick to Endi’s side. Cara heard the crunch and winced. Didn’t need a med scanner to know he had a couple cracked ribs. Endi flew backwards, the gun dropped to the floor once more. More people converged on the cargo bay. Any second now and they would be overwhelmed. 

She had served on enough Mon Cal ships during the war to recognize the sound of the escape pod hatch opening. Endi might be mostly useless, but he had managed to figure out what her plan was. She heard him gasp and wheeze as he dragged himself into the pod. 

Clutching Armand’s throat, she dug her fingers in deep. He stopped attacking and began desperately pulling at her fingers. He was gasping, his voice and breath strangled. The sounds tore the others attention away from Endi and towards their boss. Her fingers twitched and she knew she could kill him right here, didn’t even need a gun. 

“Cara!” Endi’s voice shrieked, desperate and scared. 

“If you want your boss to live, no sudden moves.” She pointed the blaster at Afra to make her point. It seemed he was not prepared to take that step and he stood at ready. She backed up, dragging Armand with her until her boots hit the lip of the pod. Her hostage managed to get enough leverage to shove her back into the wall. 

“Shoot her, now!” He gasped as her grip loosened. A second passed, a hesitation Shots began peppering the wall around her and she dropped unceremoniously backwards into the escape pod, dragging Armand with her. 

“Go, go, go!” She shouted, but Endi had initiated the release command the moment she fell into the pod. 

The hatch slammed shut as two blaster bolts impacted, one, two. One in her shoulder, one in the pod’s control panel, frying the console. Cara growled in pain and slammed Armand’s head into the door, letting him fall unconscious. 

“I - is he dead?” 

Cara winced and put her hand over the wound. “I don’t care.” 

At this point, she really didn’t. She was tired and hurt. Endi winced and reached over, looking for Armand’s pulse. 

The shot got her at just the right point, leaving her left arm useless. There was nothing she could do for it now. She grimaced and looked to see if there was any salvageable part of the console. 

Endi sighed. “He’s alive.” He shuffled towards her in the small cramped space. “Are we in trouble?” 

She looked over everything with desperate confusion. 

“Here, c’mon get out of the way. I _am_ a pilot.” He shoved her to the side and stared at the mess for a few seconds before pulling out a panel below the console. “Do you think they’ll shoot us down?” 

Cara held her shoulder, gritting her teeth against the pain. “I don’t think they want to kill their boss.” 

“Well they seemed to be fine with it a few seconds ago.” He grumbled while pulling out wires and fuses. He finished fiddling and sat back as a hologram readout popped up over the front of the pod. 

“Looks like we’re flying on the pods fail-safes. No nav, no steering. We’re locked into the default settings.” 

“What does that mean.” She winced as another surge of pain ran up her arm. 

“ Once we hit atmo it’ll automatically start decelerating – with the hope we’ll impact safely on the surface. The controls are fried, we can’t direct it. “ 

“Shit.” She tried to make sense of the holo-readout. “What are the chances we’ll land on the small bit of land on this planet.” 

“Uh - what planet are we over?” 

“You don’t know?” 

“I’ve been locked in a room the last few days and surprisingly they haven't been forthcoming to me about their plans!” His voice began rising in pitch. 

“Fine, fine.” A jolt of pain surged through her arm. “Glee Anselm, unless they made a jump while I was out.” 

“No, they didn't.” He stared at the scrawling text and shook his head. “Damnit. No, the best we can hope for is falling safely. And hope we hit land because the lifeboat protocols are fried.” 

Cara slouched back against the wall of the pod, bracing herself as the pod began entering atmosphere. The shaking was unbearable, sending jolts of pain through her body. 

Fantastic, they managed to escape. They were alive, but she had a shot up shoulder, Endi had cracked ribs, and they were hurtling towards a water world without a way to stay on the surface. This pod was definitely not suited to keep three grown adults for very long. 

She hoped Din was paying attention. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After violently leaving her captors, Cara hurtles back towards the planet, Glee Anselm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit longer than my usual chapters ... boy oh boy ... action is hard to write, guys.

Din whipped the Razor’s Crest around to make another pass at the leaving Mon Cal ship. He was limited in his options to stop them. He would not fire on them with Cara still on board. 

“An escape pod! Look!” Oshna Su exclaimed, pointing towards the viewport. In the short frame of time Cara had been missing, he somehow gained a temporary companion. The short, blue Nautolan with the forceful personality sat next to him. Din encountered her outside the market and to his surprise, she eventually demanded he let her help Cara. There was guilt behind her eyes that he understood. He agreed - he did need help - he needed someone to identify the ship that captured Cara, but as a savvy local she became useful, fast. The silent one stayed behind, not interested in following her sister as she ran off with a strange Mandalorian on an insane rescue attempt. 

“It just shot away from the ship! Do you think it’s her?” She was still pointing towards the diminishing object. 

It was a dangerous game, flying a collision course towards the Mon Cal ship – but they were readying a jump to hyperspace - he had to stop them somehow. The gamble paid off; the other ship abandoned their course to avoid colliding. He was quickly running through strategies on how to disable the ship when Oshna had pointed excitedly towards the object hurtling back towards Glee Anselm. 

He switched his screen over to scan the object. It was an escape pod. A damaged one at that. A few internal systems were non-responsive. Its thrusters were working but not engaged. No one was flying the damn thing. The scan beeped as three lifeforms registered aboard the tiny vessel. If Cara was on it and rocketing towards the planet, there was a good chance she was unconscious. He could not let her freefall into the planet. She might have done her time on drop ships during the war, but even she had her limits. 

Maneuvering away from the Mon Cal ship, he veered into an intercept course for the pod. He sure as hell hoped she was on it. 

“Wh-what’s the plan?” The Nautolan asked. She stared at him in growing worry, her head tentacles twitched nervously. 

Din took a few seconds to take stock and recognize the absurdity of his situation. The other ship wasn’t firing which could mean Cara disabled it somehow, or – and he felt this was more likely - they wanted them alive. There was also the fact that the shipmate he had at his disposal was a shop owner who only knew Cara in passing, and who he had known for just over a day. It made things - difficult. But he had done more with less. 

As they reentered atmo, an idea began to form. He looked over to Oshna Su. 

“Ever use a harpoon?” He didn’t want to assume, but she grew up on a water world. The chances were high that she had at some point in her life used some form of harpoon. 

She searched his helmeted face for answers but found none. 

“Uh- yeah. My, um – my parents took us hunting – when we were kids -” 

“Good.” He interrupted. “Go to the lower deck and open the cover of the docking station. I’ll give you instructions when you get there.” 

She stood but remained frozen next to his chair – confusion apparent on her expression. 

“We’re hunting an escape pod.” He clarified. “With harpoons.” 

Her eyes widened and an understanding grin stretched across her face. She scurried out the cockpit and down the ladder. Din shook his head. He sure as hell hoped this worked. 

* * *

Cara made many regrettable choices in her life. Most of them compounded onto the one before. Chief amongst them was letting guilt dictate her actions. It wasn’t lost on her that she and Din shared similar histories, yet here she was not learning her lesson, repeating his disastrous decision-making process. It was why she was hurtling towards a water planet in a busted-up escape pod with a current, and former enemy. 

A conversation between her and Din pushed itself towards the front of her mind. A recent conversation - one they had on their way to this very planet. 

~

Cara slouched in the copilot's chair, staring out into the swirling blues and blacks and whites of hyperspace. A small part of her wanted to turn this ship around and head back to Ahsoka and Sabine. The Jedi stuff was a little unnerving, but she liked Sabine. Why the hell was she flying into danger for someone she didn’t care about? It wasn’t her style. 

“We should stop at Glee Anselm.” Din’s voice cut though her bad mood. Right, that was the reason she was flying in. The Mandalorian was a bad influence. His quiet and stubborn code of honour was rubbing off on her. 

“Hmph.” She tucked her chin in and frowned. “Civilized space?” 

“It’s on the way.” He sighed. “We don’t have enough fuel to be careful.” 

She nodded. They would have to keep to the main hyperspace lanes. “We should land near the Glee Bazaar – it's in the south hemisphere. Used to spend time there once upon a time. Friendly, discreet folk for the most part.” 

The Razors Crest eased out of hyperspace over some backwater moon and he began calculating the next jump, adding the coordinates for Glee Anselm. 

“Damnit.” She muttered under her breath. 

His helmet turned slightly, but he continued his work. “Changing your mind?” 

She kicked at the base of the console in front of her. “No.” Her tone suggested otherwise. She continued to stare out into the cold vacuum of space. 

“No, no. This is my last bit of unfinished business. Endi is.” She clarified. One of the last things tying her to her past. Endi and her left Alderaan together, they went their separate ways, and for a time, ended up on opposite sides of the war, but it was a tether to her past. She still didn’t know if she wanted to preserve it or cut it off. “Don’t need the guilt.” Her anger helped ruin his life. The least she could do was free him from the Black Sun. 

“Your decision is driven by guilt?” 

Cara’s gaze narrowed at him and then over at the little pipsqueak he stole. The one currently sitting on the ground behind Din’s chair, playing with the glowing crystal cube Ahsoka had given him. 

“And yours aren’t?” 

He turned towards her and she imagined there was a smile underneath that helmet. 

“Well - at the moment I’m deciding to help you because you’re a friend.” 

She snorted and looked back down at the kid. “Your dad’s gone soft.” The little gremlin looked up at her and croaked before returning his attention back to his toy. 

~

Had _she_ gone soft? Maybe not, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things. 

The pod’s descent stopped rattling the small vessel and the lack of bone shaking tremors was a minor relief. It was impossible to tell whether they were on a safe trajectory towards the planet’s surface – she could only hope. 

Agent Armand jostled around, unconscious, and unable to brace himself. After getting hit a second time by flailing limbs, Endi reached over and grabbed their mysterious abductor. With much effort, he pulled the man up into one of the harness seats. His face pinched with pain, and he grit his teeth against the effort placed upon his injured ribs. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he pulled himself up into the next seat. 

“Better buckle up.” He wheezed. 

Cara nodded and dragged herself into the seat across from them. She grabbed at the harness, but without two working hands had little luck securing it. Endi watched before closing his eyes and holding his side with a groan. 

“Okay, okay.” He muttered while unbuckling his harness and reaching over to hers. A brain shaking thud rattled the entire shell of their pod. As he grabbed her safety restraints, the pod was wrenched from its trajectory. Both were slammed violently into the wall of the small space. It was like something had plucked them from the sky, and for a moment they slowed before coming to an immediate stop. The inertia caused her to slam Endi into the wall, impacting with a crunch. Endi grunted and she felt him go limp. She lay still, waiting to see if a new wave of pain might wash over. Nope. Still just the same old pain. Wincing, she reached over and felt for Endi’s pulse. 

A commotion sounded around and outside the hull. 

Across from her lay Armand’s blaster, dropped during their abrupt departure. With a pained groan she reached towards it. Above, the hatch began to open. Ignoring the pain, she slid towards the weapon, firing wildly in the direction of the opening. A familiar helmet swung out of the way. 

“Cara - it’s me!” Din’s familiar voice shouted from above. 

She fell back, sagging with relief. This man had the best _and_ worst damn luck she had ever seen. It seemed now, so did she. Despite everything, she laughed. Had he somehow managed to catch them? 

“What the hell -” She stood up and the whole thing shuddered. 

“Careful!” 

She steadied herself and peered up through the opening. The Razor Crest hovered above them on thrusters. Thick flexisteel cables snaked up towards the bottom of the ship. 

“Ha. Ever think you were going to use the power harpoon?” 

From outside the pod he grunted in frustration. “No. Neither did my ship.” 

The metal of the pod creaked, and she resisted the urge to try climbing up and out. 

“It took a few tries to catch you. Don’t think it was up for the task – it's not retracting.” 

“Damn.” Cara could see that the cables led up to a port next to the docking station on the belly of the Crest. Usually only saw this setup on pirate ships. It was meant to force an unwilling vessel to dock; she wondered how many hostile boardings he had participated in. With the sparks and smoke issuing from the top of the cables, she doubted it would be able to pull them in. 

“Probably not intended to be used in atmosphere.” She wondered if it was safe to let them drop the rest of the way. “We over land?” 

“Nope.” 

So much for that idea. Above them, the docking hatch opened, and a familiar blue face popped out. The shorter of the Su Sisters. Din motioned to her and she nodded before taking some sort of multitool to the opening. How in the hell did they meet? Cara shook her head and made a mental note to finally buy something from her if they survived this. 

“Look at you, finding new friends.” She started to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace. 

He turned to look down through the opening, silently looking at the two men in the pod. 

“Who are they?” 

Cara crouched and felt for Endi’s pulse once more. Faint, but still alive. “This is the infamous Endi Gor.” 

Any surprise he might have had over discovering their quarry here at Glee Anselm, was hidden behind his helmet. “Are we saving him?” 

Cara shuddered. She wasn’t sure if it was a side effect of her injuries, or a visceral reaction to getting rid of him once and for all. “Yep. Save him.” She said with a reluctant sigh. 

“Can you lift him to me?” 

“Maybe.” She tested her grip, before sliding her good arm underneath him. “I’ve only got one good arm.” 

The Su woman called down; Cara couldn’t hear the words, but Din seemed to understand. 

“Okay, looks like this might work. Brace yourself.” 

She did just that. The pod jolted and the metal screeching was near unbearable. Din kept pace with the pod, making sure it reeled in without problem. The flexisteel cables squealed to a stop, the pod a foot or more beneath the ship. After a moment of silence, Din appeared back in his ship, next to the blue Su sister. 

It was a struggle, but she managed to lift Endi up into a standing position by propping him against her body. He leaned against her like a friend who spent a rough night drinking. 

“Think you can lift him?” 

Din leaned in through the hatch and looped a cable underneath the man’s armpits. He stood, and the two above began hoisting the unconscious man up into the ship. Without wasting anytime, he reached in to do the same to her. She looked over at Armand. 

“I can fly down and get him after you’re out.” Din said, noticing her glance over. 

“Probably shouldn’t bother.” She muttered. 

He paused for a second, waiting for further direction but resumed his work and the moment passed. It was a bit more of a struggle dragging her up into the ship. Endi, like most pilots, was slim and short – now growing gaunt from his imprisonment. 

She was not. 

With a bit more time and a bit more struggle, they finally lifted her out. 

Cara stumbled into the ship, clutching her injured arm. Din grabbed her and steadied her as an alarm sensor sounded throughout the ship. 

“Damnit. The ship’s here.” 

Without further explanation, he vanished from her side and up the ladder. 

The short Nautolan wrung her hands together before reaching out and holding her hand. “I’m sorry-.” 

“Just a sec.” Cara interrupted. An idea sparked in her mind. Despite the fact that Armand’s subordinates shot at her, they were hesitant to do so. She had a hunch they could gamble on that fact. Crouching down, she pointed towards an exterior panel. “Can you reach the pod? I need you to seal the hatch door.” 

The Su sister crouched down nervously next to her, before awkwardly lying down on her stomach. It took a bit of effort, but she managed to stretch towards the pod and hit the button. With her good arm, Cara grabbed the other woman’s waist band and yanked her back into the ship. 

Punching in the commands at the docking port, the flexisteel cables began releasing the pod. “Let me know if it doesn’t drop!” She called out while rushing towards the ladder. With sheer adrenaline and strength, she hauled herself up one handed, her muscles sore and aching with every rung. 

Arriving at the top, exhausted and out of breath, she stumbled into the cockpit. “Open comms. Open a channel to them.” 

Din paused briefly but nodded. He trusted her. A line was opened. 

“Hey assholes, your boss is crashing into the ocean. You can come after us or rescue him.” 

They waited with bated breath, muscles tensed, hoping for an agreeable response. Sweat trickled down her brow. Steadying herself, she forced a smile. 

“Have fun explaining his drowning to your superiors.” 

After what felt like an eternity, Din’s posture relaxed. “They’re changing course. Heading towards the water.” 

Cara nodded and collapsed into a nearby chair. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final (for now!) chapter of this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the end! With season 2 coming out soon and me having less and less time to devote to the story, I'm going to wrap this up for now. I honestly could keep writing adventures with these guys - I wanted to write more with Ahsoka, Cal, and Sabine - but I also wanted to wrap up the Black Sun storyline. I hope to write more about them in the future!  
> Using hindsight, I also kind of wish I split this story into two fics, but oh well. I had fun writing this, I hope you had fun reading it - and thanks for everyone who showed interest and asked me to keep writing - can you believe I wrote the first chapter as a one off with no intention of writing more?

“I think we’ve used the entire supply of med-pacs.” 

Cara forced one of her eyes open and watched as Din entered the cockpit. He took up the seat next to her, rather than the pilot’s chair. Was here to talk, then. 

Stifling a yawn, she dismissed his concern with a wave. “I’ll get you some more.” 

“You got credits?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” She said with a smile. The combination of bacta, the painkillers, and the alcohol was making her feel a little loopy. “I’ll get them.” 

“You good?” 

Cara sighed and seemed to deflate into the chair. “Yeah.” She finally said. She was no longer a prisoner and her shoulder was healing. What did she really have to complain about? 

They both sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence, each thinking of their own current circumstance. Above them, another torrential downpour assaulted the ship – these rains belonging to the skies of yet another water world. The group landed at an out-of-the-way port on a planet a little further down the Namadii Corridor from Glee Anselm. They were taking advantage of the momentary peace to recuperate and figure out next steps. Oshna Su had politely told them there was no way in hell she was travelling back to Glee Anselm on the Crest. Didn’t fancy the target it might put on her head. She had worked out passage with a supplier of off world goods to the bazaar. It was scheduled to leave this world tomorrow. All they had left was figure out what to do with Endi. 

Din was the first to speak. “I take it we’re not going to Ord Mantell?” 

“Uh - no.” She opened her eyes and looked over at him. “Was only going there to get Endi. Agent Armand,” she said his name like it left a sour taste. “Whoever he is – he let me believe he was New Republic Intelligence, he never actually said now that I think about it – anyways, he claims to have dealt with Endi’s chapter of the Suns. We dealt them a pretty heavy blow ourselves, doubtful we need to storm their hideout now.” 

Cara was trying not to think of what being Armand’s enemy would mean for her going forwards. She doubted he was the type to roll over and forget what they did. 

She gave him a cursory look. “Apparently your visit to the prison ship made you a person of interest. I think the New Republic might be coming after the kid as well. They’re not the worst to show interest, though.” 

He tensed up. He had no love for the New Republic, but if they left him alone, he left them alone. For the most part. 

“They’re a joke – the Republic can barely control their own house.” He noted with derision. “I’m not letting them near him. Too many ex-Imperials in their ranks.” 

Cara blew out a puff of air, feeling slightly awkward. “Is Endi a problem then?” 

Din sighed. “I don’t imagine he’ll be around much longer?” 

She shrugged. “No. Gotta figure out where to stash him though.” 

“Think Karga would take in another stray?” There was a smile in his voice. 

“Doubtful he has much use for a pilot right now.” She pushed herself out of the chair. “Lemme talk to him, get a sense of his plans. Then you and I can discuss next steps.” 

He nodded and she gingerly made her way to the top of the ladder, slowly and carefully descending. Her favourite Nautolan shopkeeper was sitting near the bottom, sewing an oversized poncho. Din had borrowed it from a Glee Anselm lost and found. 

“Hey,” Cara spoke softly. Endi appeared to be sleeping. 

“How are you?” Oshna asked with a warm smile. 

“Good. I’m glad you’re here.” Cara didn’t embarrass easily, but now was such a rare moment. “I can’t believe it took this long and a violent abduction for me to find out your first name.” 

“Yes, the Su Sister title tends to overwrite our identities.” Her smile grew and she laughed. “I can’t believe you’ve visited the bazaar half a dozen times and haven’t bought anything from me. I should be offended.” 

Cara pulled up a crate and sat next to her. “Oshna. I don’t know what to say, other than thanks? Why -” She trailed off, not truly wanting to ask the question. 

“Why did I help?” 

Cara nodded. 

“You know my shop’s moto.” 

Cara looked at her, incredulous. “We’ll take care of you? Kind of ominous by the way.” 

They both laughed. Over by the carbonite freezer, Endi stirred. 

“You want me to give a testimonial or something – how you joined up with some crazy Mandalorian to protect your customer?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say no - but I’d prefer you actually buy something first.” She sighed and the good cheer became touched by bitter memories. 

When she said nothing further, Cara offered a lopsided smile. “Well whatever possessed you to help – thanks. Doubt we would have been as lucky if you hadn’t.” 

“Hmm - your Mandalorian made quite an impression – threatening us if we didn’t tell him what happened to you.” 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

She waved her apology away, her face flushing. “He didn’t need to – we remember the sacrifices made by the rebels. So many of us were saved because of people like you. Helping was the least I could do.” 

Cara nodded, but felt incredibly uncomfortable. What she did during the war was nothing to be praised. Her intentions were never noble, joining the rebellion was always driven by revenge. Sensing some of her discomfort, Oshna reached over and placed a comforting hand on her arm. “But I like the idea this was a business strategy. I’ll have to brainstorm with my marketing department.” 

“You mean your sister.” 

Oshna winked. 

“Thanks for sticking your neck out, regardless.” Cara looked over at Endi and sighed. “I’m going to talk with our other guest – figure out how we’re going to get him home.” 

Walking over, she nudged Endi’s leg with her foot. 

“C’mon, I know you’re awake.” 

He groaned and opened his eyes. “Give me a break, I nearly died.” 

“You’re fine.” It had been a couple days. The medpacs were doing their work. She crouched down next to him. “Given any thought on what you want to do?” 

His face scrunched up like he was going to argue but shook his head. “I suppose you and the old bucket head don’t have room for a pilot?” 

“Not a chance.” Cara felt this was a decision she could make on Din’s behalf. “After you put up a signal for everyone to find him? And me? Not likely.” 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean -” 

“I know, I know.” She was surprised to feel nothing but pity for him. “Think of this as a second chance. Have a fresh start somewhere.” 

With a wince, he propped himself up on his elbows. “In that case, I suppose this planet is as good as any. See if anyone is hiring. Become just another face.” 

Cara tried to hold back her frustration. After everything that happened between them, she wanted to make sure he got a fair shake – but the idea of starting over seemed to disappoint him. “At this rate, being just another face would be an ideal scenario. Why would you want to stand out?” 

He looked at her like she asked him why he would want to eat food. 

She rolled her eyes. “Right. You’re a pilot – of course.” How was every pilot she met so damn insufferable? In the Rebel Alliance, X-Wing pilots were the worst – narcissistic showoffs the lot of them. 

From the front of the ship Oshna cleared her throat. “Sorry to eavesdrop,” she gestured around at the close quarters. Eavesdropping was inevitable. “But the Glee Bazaar is always looking for pilots.” 

“Yeah?” For the first time a hint of hope lit behind his eyes. 

Ohna nodded. “Pretty sure they’re looking for an on-planet port to port pilot. You’d have to live local and you’d be on-call, but it's something.” 

“Hm.” He looked pensive. “Do I have to make up my mind now?” 

She shrugged. “I’m leaving for Glee Anselm tomorrow. You can come with me if you want. Otherwise, visit the Su Sister’s stall if you change your mind later. I’ll see what I can do.” 

He lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s a good offer. Think about it will you?” Cara pat his knee. “In the meantime, I’ll make a list of planets we can make it to, if you’d rather be dropped somewhere else.” 

He nodded silently. After a lull in the conversation, Cara stood and made her way back to the ladder. 

“Thanks.” She murmured, squeezing Oshna’s shoulder. Oshna patted her hand and Cara left up the ladder. 

The kid had found his way out of his hiding spot and was sitting in Din’s lap. Cara shut the door behind her and settled back into her chair. She didn’t want to chance the other two hearing their conversation. 

“Endi might head to Glee Anselm with Oshna.” 

“Convenient.” 

“For us, yeah.” 

Din stared at her. At least his helmet turned in her direction. “You don’t seem – fine.” 

Cara didn’t know what to say. She prided herself in being able to roll with life’s punches. Having Endi near was a constant reminder of everything she lost. She was glad to have rescued him from whatever the hell Armand wanted with him – but she wasn’t ready to be around him. There was no anger, only loss. Rescuing him didn’t provide the relief she was hoping for. 

“Somedays I wish I had a code.” 

He didn’t say anything. 

“Something that let me know I was on the right path.” 

“You have one.” He said softly. She scoffed. 

“Normal people don’t risk their life to help strangers – or risk it all to bail out acquaintances. You might not have sworn yourself to anything – but you live by your own code. A good one.” 

She cleared her throat, no longer wanting to talk about it. Life was simpler when she hung out in cantinas, beating up locals. Why did she stop doing that? 

“Got any idea on what we should do now?” She asked, changing the subject. 

He held the kid a bit closer. “I’m going back to Ahsoka and Sabine.” 

Cara set her jaw. She expected this but wasn’t ready. “You sure? Just like that, fall off the edge of the galaxy?” 

The kid made a chirping noise and looked up at her. She wished she understood this little gremlin. 

“It’s the right choice.” He sounded mostly sure of himself. “The only choice, I think.” 

The kid started squirming until he handed him a strip of dried meat from a nearby open ration pack. 

“I found his kind – but now the New Republic and Black Sun seem to also have me in their sights. I think it's time to take a step back and raise him somewhere safe.” 

“For good? I mean, I feel like I know you well enough to say that their peaceful little commune would drive you crazy. It’s too much meditation for a Mandalorian – it'll rot your brain.” 

He chuckled. “Not forever – just long enough for everyone else to lose interest. You should come.” 

“Ha!” She blew the air forcefully through her lips. “Right. I’m sure they’d love that.” 

A moment passed while the kid used his magic to float the ration pack into his lap. What a little stinker. 

“I think they would. Cal and Sabine seemed to like having you around.” 

If she was being honest with herself, she liked being with them. They were both involved with dismantling the Empire in their own ways. There was an automatic kinship found there, a bond that came easy. And, she reasoned, just because he was leaving didn't mean people would simply stop coming after her. Now that half a dozen different organizations identified her as an associate of the Mandalorian, she’d have to work hard to find a place where some yahoo wasn’t trying to take advantage of an easy score. Or what they thought was an easy score. 

“Hmm.” She nodded. “Maybe I will. If I get bored, I can always leave when they go for supplies. I’ll pretend it’s a vacation.” 

“We do deserve a break.” 

“Gotta admit, I’m a bit worried I’ve turned Armand into a personal enemy.” What were the chances he’d not take it personally? Probably slim. He knew who she was, surely he expected her to react badly after being captured. Unfortunately, in her experience, other than the crazy Mandalorian sitting across from her, there were very few that could survive a beatdown and not take it personally. Few were able to forget all past transgressions and move forwards. 

“All the better for you to hide out for a while. Wait for things to cool down.” 

Cara nodded. “After we get rid of the other two, I’m not going to Ahsoka until we scrub this ship from top to bottom. I don’t want any trackers, any stowaways we accidentally bring back. We go through the whole ship.” 

“Of course.” He sounded relieved. 

She looked at the kid and he tilted his head as he looked at her. She wondered what he was thinking. Better yet, she wondered what the little troll was telling Din about her. The traitor. Still, she smiled. 

“So - hiding out with an order of sorcerers?” 

“Yep.” He said it with a smile. 

After losing her home, after joining a war, she had tried many things to deal with what happened – each with varying success. Might as well give a magical religion a shot. 

A bolt of lightning struck a nearby weathervane and thunder cracked the sky. The kid buried his face in his dad's side.

Was it a sign? An omen? She grinned as the rain began to pelt the ship harder. Heading to an unexplored jungle world with no government and little authority? _It didn't have to be boring_ , she supposed.

_To adventure._


End file.
